How to REDUCE the barriers to change in your business

Your business must change to survive and thrive. But enacting real, lasting and effective change is difficult and to do this successfully you must have the full support of your team.

But here’s what happens when you PUSH for change… your people may push back, they may resist…

In his brilliant book The Catalyst – How to Change Anyone’s Mind, Jonah Berger states:

“People like to feel they have control over their choices and actions. When others threaten or restrict that freedom, people get upset… so, they push back - “Who are you to tell me... I can do whatever I want!”

When you use the 5 PULL strategies for change, you become the catalyst for change in your business, easing your team towards the changes you seek by mitigating the roadblocks that stand in your way.

Here are the 5 PULL strategies for successful change:

1. REACTANCE – When pushed, people push back.

So rather than telling your team what they are going to do or trying to persuade them, get them to persuade themselves. Stop selling and start giving them choices, and ask questions rather than telling them what is going to happen.

2. ENDOWMENT – People resist moving away from the status quo.

Show your team the cost of doing nothing, the cost of inaction. You could perhaps highlight the changes a competitor is making or the loss of profits and job security if the firm doesn’t embrace new technology. Dominic Cummings revealed his perceived weekly cost of remaining in the EU – £350 million a week – and even put it on a big red bus so that the cost of inaction was there for everyone to see.

3. DISTANCE – Take small steps and shrink the distance.

If the change is too big or too overwhelming, your team will not want to support it. Get some of your more enthusiastic team members on board to encourage the rest of the team to take the first few steps. Your people will be more receptive when you break a substantial change into smaller, manageable changes.

4. UNCERTAINTY – Doubt and ambiguity slows the rate of change.

If your team don’t know what they are doing, they will likely not do anything. Show the path for change and they will be less reluctant.

5. CORROBORATING EVIDENCE – Lack of proof reduces willingness to change.

Some things simply need more proof. In his book The Catalyst, Jonah Berger states, “If one person tells you you have a tail, you think they are crazy, but if 5 people tell you then you start to believe you actually have a tail.”

What can you do to ensure you have multiple sources of evidence supporting the changes you want your business and team to make?

R.E.D.U.C.E. – that’s what great catalysts do.  You are the catalyst for change in your business.

Reduce the barriers to change using these 5 strategies and ease your people toward the changes you seek.