Organizational change is hard. For teams affected by change, disruptions to their work loom large while the benefits of change tend to appear small and distant. This frequently manifests as an “enthusiasm gap” between the people proposing a change and those who will be affected by it. What looks like a clear win-win to some appears dubious at best to others.
That’s why one of the best ways to drive change is to start by offering teams something for “free” – something that doesn’t add to their work or require them to adopt new workflows. Change without disruption comes with few downsides, making it easier for people to appreciate its benefits. This kind of change isn’t compulsory, which also gives people more opportunity to become supporters or even advocates for it – much more so than if the change were imposed upon them.
What kinds of change initiatives offer something for free? One option is providing greater access to information. This could be more information about the activity of other teams around the organization – projects they’re working on, parties they’re working with, or initiatives they’re considering. Or it could be more visibility into the status of cross-departmental workflows, such as requests that require approval from multiple departments. A second option is making processes easier to navigate. This could take the form of training or guidance resources, or it could be modifications to the processes themselves – dropping requirements or streamlining intermediate steps. A third option is offering incentives to teams for successful completion of tasks, milestones, or projects.
Granted, these examples aren’t necessarily “free” for everyone. For example, providing access to information requires that the owners of the information are willing to share it. Similarly, it takes work to develop new training or guidance resources. But it usually isn’t hard to find a group of people who are ready to initiate change. That could be a department that would like to raise the visibility of their work, a group who is repeatedly called upon to explain how their processes work, or a team who is frustrated with cross-departmental workflows that stall out. Identifying these groups and figuring out how to build on the change they’re willing to initiate is key.
Driving organizational change in this way is an iterative process. It starts with teams who are motivated to take on the extra work needed for change; it grows by demonstrating to other teams that change can provide benefits with minimal disruption to their work. As more people experience the benefits of change, they become open to further changes – even changes that come with some degree of disruption. Over time, this creates new possibilities for the organization. The change “enthusiasm gap” narrows, the benefits of change become more visible and accessible, and the organization becomes ready for larger changes.