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 |
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.
Start with two questions:
| Motivation | Ability | |
| Personal | Want to | Can do |
| Social | Peer pressure | Help from others |
| Structural | Rewards and consequences | Environment and tools |
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.
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.