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Talking Change – Top Tips to Gain Commitment to Change

Lake front and rainbox

With the amount of change happening in today’s workplaces, gaining commitment to change is key to business success. In my book, Talking Change: Must-Have Conversations for Successful Leaders, I talk about the journey people take to transition through change to commit to the new state – what I call the ABC Transition Roadmap™. I also outline the key conversations to have to plan change initiatives and engage employees throughout the change journey. 

Here are key tips to help others travel along the ABC Transition Roadmap™ to arrive at your desired destination:   

  • Awareness – communicate early and often. Repeat key messages, alter messages as needed based on feedback, and provide clarity on why, what, when, how and who the change will impact.
  • Buy-in – explain the impacts or the WIIFM (what’s in it for me). Outline the impacts to people, processes, and technology.
  • Belief – to make change you must believe you can make change. Show people what the new system or equipment can do. Inspire them with how the change will make their life better. Talk about past changes that have moved your organization forward.
  • Capability & Capacity – provide the skills and the time to prepare for change. Teach people the new ways and coach them to improve and, more importantly, prioritize their work and stop the things that don’t add value in order to create capacity for change.
  • Commitment & Continuation – this is your end goal, having people committed to the change and continuing to work in the new way by making decisions in alignment with the direction you are going. Reinforce the new way of doing things. Provide feedback. Reward commitment.

All of the above tips are best done through conversation! Wondering what conversations to have, with whom, and how to facilitate them? Stay tuned for my next post. 

IMPROVE YOUR CHANGE GAME

Are you managing or supporting a change initiative? Take the Leading Change for Project Managers course to build your confidence, skills, and toolbox to plan and manage change with ease. 

Are you leading a team through change – whether you chose the change or not? Bring the AIM Changer program to your organization – it will change the way you lead forever. 
 

Enjoy your conversations!