The Convincing Side of Change

Struggling with people resisting making the changes you know you need to make in your organization or group? Don't know how to get buy-in from people so that you can change things for the better? Challenged by an undercurrent of resistance to your attempts to move your organization forward?

Have you ever tried to change anyone? Everyone knows how difficult it is to change their spouses (ever TRIED it? Not a pretty sight!) Even more, have you ever tried to change something about yourself? Not an easy task, is it?! Just think of those failed New Years’ Resolutions… It takes a lot of effort and concentration to change—even small things.

So, why would it be any easier to change things in a business or community organization?

I’ll never forget the time, in my early years in corporate America, when I had to make some changes with our group. Piece o’ cake, I thought… I just held a quick meeting, told everyone what we were changing, and dismissed ‘em. Like I said, piece o’ cake.

NOT.

In checking on the new change a few days later. Guess what? No one was doing it. Hmmm. What went wrong here? Didn’t they understand me? Even worse, did they disobey me???
When I got up the gumption to ask, I was met with shoulder shrugs. Then one brave soul whispered, “we were afraid it would eliminate our jobs.”

I was taken aback. It wasn’t going to eliminate their jobs; it was going to make their jobs better! After I convinced them of that, we started to make headway… Geesssshhh. It took me a long time to realize that getting folks and processes to change isn’t about tasks. It is about something else.

Managing change is not as difficult as you might think. But it IS different.

Rather than focus on whether the change is right or not, we need to take it a step further. We need to make sure that the people affected by the change understand why it is right, and how it will impact them. Unfortunately, this piece is often overlooked by the changemakers. And it could be the most important part.

Because without buy-in, there is no commitment. Without commitment, the change could fail. This can happen to even the most appropriate, most perfect solutions. If the affected people don’t buy in, your chances of making the change work will be reduced.

So, how do we promote positive change in our organizations?

I’d like to suggest that you shift your thinking about making change from that of being a task to that of being a marketing and sales effort. ( Note: We’re not talking about the decision to make the change; we’re talking about implementing the change after it has been decided. Big difference.)

By embracing the idea that implementing a change is really about convincing all the stakeholders to buy in, we can now move forward to exactly what that means.

I believe that it means a communication plan. By planning for and communicating the details and benefits of the change, you speed up the commitment. This means looking at each affected position (or person,) and figuring out how specifically the change will benefit them, and also what their concerns and fears may be. As an example, someone in the sales department may be impacted differently than someone in shipping and receiving. By looking at positions from the viewpoint of the person(s) in those positions, you can better craft the right way(s) to communicate the benefits of the change.

Once you’ve established the “sales points” to gain buy in to the change, the next step is to come up with a plan that will work. The more complex the change, the more elaborate the plan. Any and all types of communications can be used: letter from CEO, newsletters, emails, small group meetings, large meetings, focus groups, managers sharing “talking points,”videos, recorded audio messages… creativity is a benefit here!

Then once you have that in place, implement it. Then listen closely for feedback. People need a chance to ask questions, share concerns, and provide ideas. Be sure to provide forums for people to respond. Who knows, what you started could morph to something even better through feedback and ideas for improvement!

The biggest challenge here is to do it. Not giving attention to the actual selling of the change could be one of the most serious errors in getting that great change implemented. And unfortunately we see this happening all too often.

Change is here to stay. The groups who know how to embrace positive change faster will have an edge. That means getting the buy in from everyone involved, and as quickly as possible. Perhaps you didn’t realize how much selling is involved in leadership… Are YOU ready to sell?