Have you ever had to lead a project or introduce something new that wasn’t easy to get excited about…or something that would potentially add to people’s workload when they are already stretched…plus you had no direct authority over them? I have and it’s not easy to do.
Working in the corporate governance space, I’ve had to roll out new policies, processes and drive cultural change in areas that are not generally considered very ‘sexy’ and seen by many to be another pointless thing ‘back office’ or ‘corporate’ wants them to do. I wasn’t their line manager so I couldn’t just direct them to comply and some were several levels above my pay grade. But this nerd knew how important these things are in protecting them or even making their jobs easier over time so I persevered and did my best to get people excited…or at least excited enough to be compliant.
Below are some of the things I did (or learned about how) to influence and drive change without direct authority. I hope they will help you increase stakeholder engagement and achieve your project objectives.
Expect resistance
Don’t go into this thinking that all you have to do is design a process or policy and then send it out. It doesn’t work that way. People need to be convinced of its value to comply. Sometimes this needs to be subtly combined with scare tactics (like pointing out the risks of non-compliance) and creating a sense of urgency (like missing out on opportunities if a certain deadline is not met). In any case, make sure you build engagement (read: persuasion) into your planning if you want the benefits of the initiative to be realised.
Build trust
Regardless of their position in the hierarchy, people are more likely to listen to someone they trust and they will trust someone they know, respect and like. This can be achieved by building positive relationships with your stakeholders and I strongly encourage you to make the time to do this.
But what if you only have a few months (or less) to influence people that don’t know you very well? Below are some things you can do. They are also ways to get relationship-building off to a good start so that they last beyond the duration of your project.
Know your stuff: It helps if you are the expert in the room and people can tell you’re across the topic. Just try not to act like a ‘smarty pants’ as this might be off-putting. Know that even people that are new to the topic can contribute with valuable feedback and fresh insights.
If you’re not the expert, you can team up with a subject matter expert that will give credibility to the initiative and be able to tackle the technical questions. In this case, your expertise will be effective facilitation so use your knowledge of this process to assure people you know what you’re doing.
Be organised: When interacting with stakeholders, arrive on time (read: early), be prepared with an agenda, get appointments into their diaries as soon as possible and keep to the allotted time. These little things matter and show you respect people’s time.
Be clear in your communication: When communicating with stakeholders, clearly explain the background, the context, why this initiative is happening, etc. Explain their role and what is required of them. If it’s a pilot project or if you need to send out early communication before something actually starts, be clear about what you already know, what is yet to be determined and the expected decision date.
Team up with influencers: I know this sounds like someone on Instagram but what I really mean is either someone with direct authority (such as a senior executive) or other influential (liked and/or respected) people in the organisation. In larger organisations, it is often a requirement to have a senior management project sponsor who can help you lobby your cause across the organisation. However, don’t underestimate the power of middle managers who are more in touch with the concerns of their teams than senior executives. This is especially important to consider if you’re expecting resistance from a particular team or business unit.
Stay positive
Try to get people interested in or excited about the initiative. Focus on its benefits, how it will help them address risks, meet deadlines, make their jobs easier, etc.
If it’s unpleasant change, such as introducing leaner operations due to funding cuts, try to take a ‘we’re all in this together’ approach and think of support that can be offered to the people involved. Even better, instead of taking on a deficit mindset, it could be presented as an opportunity for people to be creative around service delivery. You could even organise a competition for coming up with the most innovative approach.
If you run into some problems during implementation, remain calm, positive and constructive (even if you’re screaming inside). Your stakeholders will appreciate your ability to deal with challenges and solve problems.
Involve them
As I mentioned above, driving change is not about advising people of ‘the new way’ and expecting them to comply. People are more likely to follow something they helped build so seek their input early on and co-design the solution. If this isn’t possible for some reason, seek their feedback along the way or at least prior to finalising the solution.
But this is not only about bringing people on board with your idea, it’s also about ensuring that you come up with the best solution. As I mentioned in my post on positive leadership, everyone has something to contribute, regardless of their title and years of experience.
Make it easy to adopt
If you’re introducing a new process, for example, make it as simple as possible and introduce tools that help them follow the steps and are easy to use. My favourite approach is to embed the new thing into an existing thing. If you need people to take an extra step to comply, add that extra step to an existing process they are already comfortable with.
Offer support once your deliverable has gone live, such as a refresher training, regular ‘question and answer’ sessions and an easily accessible ‘frequently asked questions’ document that you keep regularly updated.
Any thoughts?
Have you ever had to drive change without formal authority? What was your experience? Any other tips you would add to the ones above? Contact me and share your thoughts.
Thanks for your time.