Why do you need to engage your team?

The truth is: regardless of how good your product, process, structure or system is, it is not worth a single cent if no one chooses to use it.

A million-dollar investment will be worth nothing if those who need to, choose not to adopt it. This means that the only way that organisational change can work is by individual adoption.  Here are some thoughts and reflections shared by Leanne Robinson and Daniel Panozzo, Co-founders and Directors of Aspen Solutions in the webinar recently hosted by Teamgage.

“The number 1 element necessary for the success of any Change Management activity is individual adoption. The number 1 element necessary for individual adoption in any Change Management activity is desire”.  
Leanne Robinson, Co-Founder and Director at Aspen Solutions

Those around us influence our beliefs and actions

We know that emotions are contagious, and if people are being negative and not on board with the change, that's going to permeate through the team.

To have people individually choosing to adopt a change, it’s necessary to have a look from a personal perspective. What are their perceptions, implications or even possible fears of what's causing them not to want to do that? By having those answers, you will then be able to provide the support they need to go through navigating this change with the tools, processes and skill sets to be able to achieve the desired outcome.

Every company has cases of staff who have been with their organisation for a long time and who they believe are never going to change. Believe it or not, it is possible to teach an old dog new tricks. We have neural pathways in our brains that we build over time when we do the same thing repeatedly. By simply trying and starting to do them in a new way, we create a new neural pathway no matter how old we are. As we build this capability, people start to believe in it and feel encouraged to give it a crack.

There is some really important tools and frameworks that can help you to do that. ‍

Aspen Solutions adopts the Prosci ADKAR methodology, which covers the entire change journey:  

‍Awareness

When we put change in place, we are asking people to step outside of their comfort zone. That said, we must be able to provide them support and reassurances need to articulate the why:

• Why is this important to the organisation?  
• Why do we need to be involved?  
• Why do we need to change?  
• And more importantly, why do I need to be involved?  

“Full awareness of a change equals the desire to adopt it.”  
‍Leanne Robinson, Co-Founder and Director at Aspen Solutions

Desire

‍People need to understand the need for change. In this sense, we need to create alignment to create desire. Alignment should be seen from two different perspectives:

• Individual - What are your values, beliefs, ideas? What's important for them?  
• Corporate - Where are you taking the organisation? ‍

Knowledge

‍Employees should identify what they need to know to do the new job we’re asking them to do. This literally means giving them the theoretical teachings that will guide them throughout the process.

Ability

‍Once they have the theoretical knowledge, we need to give them the practical skills. It's important to build people's confidence to keep trying, even if it's just a setback at the start. We need to remind them that abilities are built over time.

Reinforcement

If people choose not to stay on board with the change, it means we don't get the return on the investment of what our changes are in the first place. Although, it is also important to look at areas where the new process maybe isn't serving you.

Watch the full webinar

‍

Daniel Panozzo is the Co-Founder and Director at Aspen Solutions and is an engaging and professional public speaker, host and facilitator. He delivers training events, workshops and seminars. He’s passionate about sharing the knowledge and navigating people and organisations through transition, change and turmoil.

Leanne Robinson is the Co-Founder and Director at Aspen Solutions and is passionate about building resilience, agility and capability in people through times of change. Leanne is an experienced Change Manager, Six Seconds Emotional Intelligence Practitioner, Trainer and Coach, and works with individuals and teams to create purpose and values driven cultures.

‍