Generating positive Change outcomes.
Effective Change Management requires using multiple tools, methodologies, tactics and channels. Whether you're imbedding a new process, introducing new technology or rejigging your organisational structure, ensuring you have the right message being delivered to the right audience is critical to the overall success of your project.
It goes without saying you cant manage change with people impacts without effective, engaging communications. As Change professionals we know we need to communicate the ‘why’ and ‘how’ clearly and consistently – did you know studies suggests that a message needs to be seen or heard approximately seven times before it "sinks in"?
Keeping that in mind, ensuring your message is being distributed through the right channels ultimately means the difference between success or failure when it comes to the adoption of a project.
People of influence – a different kind of communications channel
Outside of the traditional means of getting your message out there (email, meetings etc) understanding who your influencers are will allow you to capitalise on long-term relationships that have a solid foundation of trust.
So what do I mean by the term ‘influencers’ – and no I don’t mean the people you find on Instagram or TikTok.
I'm referring to the people of influence to your project, who other team members look to for guidance, advice and their opinions on all work-related things.
Finding your influencer
A common misconception is thinking just because someone is in a position of power, for example, a leader, supervisor or executive.
Having a leadership title doesn’t necessarily mean they have the kind of influence we are looking for with our project, granted they may have the ‘final’ say when it comes to the project details, but we are looking for people who have a reputation among teams as someone who is trustworthy and usually ‘makes good decisions’.
Identifying your person/persons of influence will enable you to build a positive coalition for your project. Granted you have your influencer on side, that is. Of course, it can always go the other way too – if your person of influence doesn’t believe in your project/cause then you must action your resistance management plan ASAP.
Your influencer typically would be someone who has a lot of long-standing relationships amongst your impacted stakeholders. They usually are someone other team members go to for support and guidance when problem-solving and can even be the unofficial spokesperson for a group of people.
They may not have a leadership title but take on a leadership role among their peers.
As much as we are talking about our influencers having a positive impact on your project, on the other hand having them be against your project could make adoption hard as they could actively shut down any of your communications – best to keep that in mind when you are engaging with your influencer!
Influencing your influencer
Knowing who has influence over your impacted stakeholder group, and how to use that in support of your project can help build adoption, drive engagement and overall mean the successful implementation of your project.
So how can you maximise the influencers of your impacted users? Bring them into your ‘inner circle’ as soon as you have identified them. Organise regular touch bases, offer exclusive access to prototypes and offer two-way feedback loops so not only can you help bring your impacted users along for the journey but gives the project team the opportunity to get ahead of any potential issues that arise.
Change Management is more than sending emails and organising events – it's our job to understand relationships, manage impact and responses to change and support people through the transition of old to new.
Can you identify who is a person of influence in your organisation? Perhaps you are the influencer…
Looking for a Change Management Solution? Reach out to our team today for a demonstration and overview of Change Hub a platform to designed to manage a Single view of Change..
COMMENTS