Understanding How People Change: A Diversity Issue

1. Understanding How People Change: A Diversity Issue Living In / Living With Diversity Mary Lynn Manns Department of Management & Accountancy

2. Common misconceptions ofchange leaders • Policies will address most of our issues • Laws & rewards treat symptoms, not the underlying causes • What is needed?... a fundamental change in thinking and behaving • We can persuade people with well-prepared presentations and “elevator speeches” • This makes it difficult to address individual concerns • Just the facts, ma’am • The facts provide only knowledge knowledge – persuasion – decision – implementation – confirmation

3. Leading change…it’s about relationships • Change happens one individual at a time. • Relate to what’s going on in the other person’s head, not in yours. (R.N. Bolles, What Color is Your Parachute?) • What separates those who achieve from those who do not is in direct proportion to one’s ability to ask for help. (D. Keough, former president of Coca-Cola)

4. Innovativeness of the individual • The degree to which an individual is relatively earlier in adopting a new idea than other members of a social system • Partitioned into 5 adopter categories by laying off standard deviations from the average time of adoption • A continuous variable • A simplification that aids in the understanding of human behavior • However, we lose information as a result of grouping individuals (Rogers)

5. Guru on Your Side Champion Skeptic Early Majority Bridge-Builder Early Adopter Connector Local Sponsor Innovator

6. Innovator • New stuff is cool! • Venturesomeness is almost an obsession • Can cope with a high degree of uncertainty • A (temporary) gatekeeper for the change • Not a good “opinion leader”

7. Early Adopter • This is interesting, but I want to hear more. • Known for successful, discrete use of new ideas, so this person is… • … respected and makes a good… • … opinion leader

8. Early Majority • What do other people think? • Are risk-adverse and want to know the experiences of others • Provide a link to interpersonal networks

9. Bridge-Builder • Pair those who have accepted the idea with those who have not • Homophily: similar beliefs, personality, lifestyle • Spreads message among similar people (horizontally) • “Strong ties”(Granovetter, 1973)

10. Connector • Communicates with many different types of people • Heterophily allows an idea to spread vertically • “Weak ties”(Granovetter, 1973)

11. Guru on Your Side • Has the ear of managers and non-managers alike • May be “delicate” to convince • Can make or break your efforts

12. Local Sponsor • Can provide support and resources • Use • [Whisper in the General’s Ear] • [Guru Review] • [Tailor Made]

13. Champion Skeptic • Rather than fearing or avoiding the skeptics, respect what they have to say • Consider giving them an official role in the change initiative

14. A variety of peoplein your change initiative [Innovator] [Early Adopter] [Early Majority] [Bridge-Builder] [Connector] [Guru on Your Side] [Evangelist] [Local Sponsor] [Champion Skeptic] Manns & Rising (2005) Fearless Change: Patterns for Introducing New Ideas

15. Summary… • People are diverse even when adopting change • If we learn about this diversity, we can: • persuade each person in the most effective way [PersonalTouch] • involve each person in the change initiative [Involve Everyone] • develop a [Group Identity] • If you and I were exactly the same, one of us would not be necessary.