In a world abuzz with AI capabilities it is sometimes difficult to know how to get started. Vendors...
Want Sticky Change? Use the Six Sources for Inspiration
Change is inevitable - just ask the Tyrannosaurus Rex.
Even if change is not being driven from within an organization, the environment will change around it. We are all living this on a daily basis.
Competition, geopolitics, sustainability, emerging markets, demographics, AI, robotics, you name it combine to make the global environment increasingly dynamic and uncertain. Opportunities and threats abound.
I work mostly with changes involving information systems, but a new system is typically not the true goal of such a change. Usually we are seeking some efficiencies or to be more effective. The system improvements are just part of the wider picture that involves people in the organization doing something different.
That is usually the hard part.
So how do we make change stick? One way is to surround your change effort with influence from every angle. Here's how leveraging the Six Sources of Influence can help you get results...
Previously, I shared simple-but-powerful approaches for understanding the path to the value you are seeking and clarifying the difference between now and the future, which will be the change. As you dig in you will find you need to create new business capabilities and you also need to think about how people are going to start using them. You need both to unlock your value.
Let's take a practical example. In our Target Operating Model, we might say:
| As Is | To Be |
| Low/no visibility to next quarter sales | A sales pipeline with associated confidence level gives an estimate of next quarter sales |
| Cannot see which customers to prioritise for Account Executive next period | Up to date record of current sales opportunities gives visibility to high-potential customers |
Both of these require a new way of working, which might create a Culture change line item:
| As Is | To Be |
| Opportunities not up to date | Key opportunity information updated at least once a week so pipeline is accurate |
Now we have identified what needs to change, how do we encourage people to adopt the new ways of working?
In the book Influencer, the team from Crucial Conversations give a really useful framework. It is well worth reading the whole book, but while you order it, I'd like to share a couple of key takeaways.
Through studying successful changes, the authors identified six levers to influence behaviour: The Six Sources of Influence. You can deploy this idea in workgroup settings rapidly - very useful!
A key message in the book is that we often only use one lever, which is a weak one: an appeal to logic. You should do this because it is good for you. You should do this because it is good for the company in ways that you can't see.
Better, say the authors, to use as many of the six levers as you can. Surround the desired change with influence and the change will be more successful.
What are the Six Sources?
Start with two questions:
- What is the motivation? e.g. Do I want to do it?
- What is the ability? e.g. Can I do it?
- Personal: the individual, as we have done in the examples above
- Social: the peer groups the individuals are in
- Structural: the environment people are in, for example the company or the country
| Motivation | Ability | |
| Personal | Want to | Can do |
| Social | Peer pressure | Help from others |
| Structural | Rewards and consequences | Environment and tools |
Let's look at an example
A company wants its sales team to regularly update sales opportunities in a CRM system to ensure the sales pipeline is accurate for forecasting and decision-making. In a working group the following ideas were identified, using the Six Sources as a structure for the thinking.
1. Personal Motivation
- Highlight the personal benefits of maintaining accurate CRM data. Show how updated opportunities can help individual salespeople track performance and close deals faster
- Share success stories of team members who improved their win rates or cycle time because they used their pipeline to focus resources
2. Personal Ability
- Provide training to ensure the team feel confident using the CRM system effectively
- Offer hands-on workshops with staff in their time zone, step-by-step guides and video tutorials on updating opportunities
- Reduce how much data is asked for to make it easier to update
- Keep the needed information relatively stable so team members do not have to re-learn too frequently
3. Social Motivation
- Identify top-performing sales team members and have them advocate in group settings
- Have leaders publicly celebrate those who maintain accurate pipelines
- Set up visible team-based challenges where groups work to achieve high CRM accuracy rates
4. Social Ability
- Build collaborative sessions that make it easier for reps to update opportunities together or seek help when needed
- Pair less experienced team members with mentors who can guide them through the process
5. Structural Motivation
- Have leaders demonstrate decisions being made using the opportunity data, such as sales coverage
- Have leaders actively use and promote the CRM to set an example
- Align CRM goals with individual and team objectives to show how it helps achieve targets
- Offer rewards such as bonuses for reps with accurate pipelines
- Prioritize leads or other resources for those who consistently update their opportunities
6. Structural Ability
- Make updating opportunities easier by improving the CRM system’s usability
- Simplify data entry and automate updates where possible (e.g., syncing emails and meeting notes)
- Integrate reminders into daily workflows
I hope this gives a taster for how The Six Sources of Influence can be used as part of your Change effort. The book and the team at Crucial Learning could help you go deeper. As you can tell, I'm a fan!
Please reach out at fieldenablement.com or LinkedIn to talk more about this approach or my services.
Gareth.
