Motivation starts with Leadership

Motivating People to "Be the Change"

 

Change is a process, not a journey.  You will only speed up the implementation and the acceptance of change if you can devise subtle and complex strategies to appeal to a wide and diverse range of staff, stakeholders and customers. 

 

Passion for Change

 

It's impossible to think of how any company could achieve change without passion, enthusiasm and leading from the front.  That means the management team have to demonstrate congruency and, in effect, become business psychologists.  They have to expose themselves to the miriad  ways to motivate people at all levels.

 

Change is Easy: Take A Look in the Mirror

 

Change is easy - it's those that are dispensing it who have the real problems.  For those projecting the message, their words  have to match their behaviour.  And another secret of being a great change master is to be curious of one's own style.  Change resides first in the change maker taking a good look in the mirror and saying "how am I doing?"

 

Motivating People is a Business Strategy

 

You are not going to get far without motivation.  You have to engage people in the process.  If the leaders driving the change do not posses the same enthusiam for change, there is no surprise when the effects and the results are radically distilled.

 

Change works when people feel they are motivated to live, and be, the change.  There's no point focusing on dictats, methodologies or clever powerpoint presentations, if we fail to address the emotions, and excite the hearts and minds of our people to want to be the change.

 

Secrets of Change Management

 

The first big secret is: focus on the emotional benefits that will accrue to those who you would like to accept and deliver the change, in terms of how you do business.  Trite slogans on 'T' shirts and coffee mugs will never win the heart of anybody.

 

Just suppose some of your people perceive the change impacting them as a threat - how likely is it that they will embrace that change and make sure it works?.

 

If you have not sold the change well and addressed objections to it, you might as well go away and start again.

 

Change is about Managing Emotions

 

Change is about getting the most out of others, and starts with being the best that we can be.  Change works best when those dispensing it explore their own beliefs and skills in enabling others to make the transition.

 

Avoiding Emotional Contagion

 

Believe it or not, as a change catalyst you are principally in charge of managing the emotions around you, and avoiding those which are negative and opposed to the change you are undertaking.

 

It's all about rapport with others.  As a change maker you cannot, not communicate.  When you do so, you have to project the positive and avoid picking up any negatives from others.

 

This has been referred to as the  'emotional contagion'. In fact, the more you are in rapport with others, the more your own brain's neurons make you highly susceptible.

 

Rapport and Change Maker

 

We are fundamentally hardwired to relate to others involved in the change arena. Our brains contain "mirror neurons" that fire positively or negatively and synchronise with the people around us.

 

All with whom we interact, or even just acknowledge when meeting, stimulate a "neural bridge" that connects us.

 

Basic Change Skills

 

I'm sure you've experienced unintentionally matching another person's facial expression or reflecting the same changes in physiology. Mirror neurons also cause us to empathize with the emotions of others.

 

Behaviour Begets Behaviour

 

When a person exhibiting hostility and anger enters a room, you can actually feel it.   Equally, when someone laughs and jokes you probably match them automatically.  A wave of emotion from one person can trigger similar behaviours in a whole group.

 

Daniel Goleman & Emotional Intelligence

 

Daniel Goleman, the psychologist who promoted the idea of EQ, suggests that the more emotionally connected we are with someone, the greater influence they have on us.

 

It's been said that we become the average of the five people we associate with most.

 

If that's the case, audit yourself now as change maker.

 

Who in the change arena supports your emotional well-being, and the happiness of all?

 

Spending time with these people builds up your emotional immunity and boosts your knowledge that change will come about.

 

Consider who in the organisation has the potential to drag you and others down, to inhabit negative emotions?

 

Is it your direct report who constantly complains, or an overly critical or toxic team leader who never knows what they want. Spending time with these people can drain you of energy and your ability to motivate others through the difficult and the easy times.

 

While you can't always avoid the energy vampires and emotional bullies at work, you can protect yourself from their toxicity.

 

Change is about being optimistic and managing emotions.  Things are not always going to go well, but the trainer or consultant always has the capability to take the steps to motivate others.  A phrase for those leading change to consider is "have you left your people in a better emotional state than when you started with them?"

 

If we let this mindest guide our actions, we can be confident that we are taking a 'step by step' approach to gradual and continuous improvement.

 

.