What Influences People to Change?

Oh, this is such a great question.

Everyone reading this is most likely thinking of one employee or person in their life who is resistant to change. If you’ve ever had to fire an employee because of their resistance to change, or put restrictions on a kid because of their unwillingness to change, then you know that it’s sometimes impossible to get someone else to change.

So why are people motivated to change?

When you change, you’re more successful at adapting to the world around you. And when you’re adaptable and willing to change, life is less stressful. People actually like you better because you’re easier to get along with when you’re open to change. And, most importantly, when you’re motivated to change, you’re able to accomplish goals and achieve your vision. So, what’s the main challenge in motivating people to change? You can’t motivate others since motivation is internally generated.

If you ask change averse people why they’re so resistant, they’ll most likely tell you one of two things. First, they like to tell you they aren’t against all change, just fast change. However, if you watch their actions, you’ll see that statement is a lie. Second, they’ll tell you that not all change is good change. This is an accurate statement and I’m in agreement with it. There are plenty of examples of negative change in our world. But, it’s important to tell these people that improvements cannot occur without change. They should understand that while every change may not be an improvement, every improvement is the result of a change.

Some of the reasons people don’t change include:

1. Vision: By vision, I mean simply a clear picture of the desired outcome. What’s important to note is that there are three types of visions.
   • Positive visions in which people truly believe that if they change, tomorrow will be even better. People who have a positive vision for their future, usually recognize they’ll need to change in order to achieve the vision, and, are willing to change.
   • Status quo visions in which people believe that tomorrow will be the same as today if they don’t change.
   • Negative visions in which some people truly believe that if they do change, tomorrow will be even worse than it was today.
2. Being Unaware: I was going to title this bullet ignorance, but unaware is a nicer word. Only recently have I begun using voice recognition software to transmit my emails and texts over my cell phone. I hadn’t fully adopted it in the past because I tried it back in 2005, but thought it was more work than it was worth. Today, the voice recognition software is almost perfect in its translation. Why didn’t I change sooner? I was ignorant or, at best, unaware of how good the software had become.
3. They Don’t See the Benefit: There are many people who don’t see the benefit of getting a formal K-12 education. Just talk to a kid struggling in school. You can tell them that they’ll need to repeat a grade if they don’t do well, or that they’ll be digging ditches if they don’t graduate from high school, but that won’t motivate the child to change. Just like with these struggling students, until people see the benefit of the change, it’s hard to motivate them to change.
4. It’s Not their Goal: This is a tricky one in business. One time an employee told me, “That is your goal, not mine.” Thank goodness for my writing and training because I quickly asked the employee, “If your goals are not in alignment with my goals, which are in alignment with the company’s goals, what basis for a business relationship do we have?” Fortunately, that employee is now working for a competitor, messing up their strategic plan.
5. Short-Term Rewards: Pleasure is greater than the pain of not changing. Healthy living is a great example of this point. So, why don’t people live a healthy life? Because the pleasure of undisciplined eating and drinking is greater than the pleasure derived from eating right and exercising.

So, what does motivate people to change?

1. Positive Vision: People who are successful in a rapidly changing business environment make sure to gain the skills they know will help them adapt to the new environment. What are the new skills you need to gain to be successful and in demand 5 years from now? People who have a positive vision about their future feel uncomfortable until they’ve reached their goals.
2. Fear: I’m motivated by fear of failure. I constantly ask myself, “Over the next 5 – 10 years, what do I/we need to do to not only stay relevant, but sought after and in demand?” Thinking about what would happen if I didn’t change fast enough is frightening to me as a business owner, as a leader, as a dad, as a husband, etc.
3. Pain: Although most of us think of pain as a physical problem, mental pain can be an even bigger motivator to change. When your vision of who you are doesn’t line up with your reality, it causes mental discomfort. This pain can be a great motivator. So if I see myself as being an excellent communicator, but people tell me that I’m leaving someone out in my communication, hearing that motivates me to change because it doesn’t line up with my vision.
4. Ultimatums: If you don’t correct these quality and service problems, you may not be fully qualified to work here. That doesn’t sound like something that would come out of a great leader’s mouth, but it is in fact an act of great leadership. Sometimes the threat of getting fired, broken up with, or kicked out causes enough pain to motivate someone to change their behavior.
5. Goal Alignment: Everyone has a goal of what they want to accomplish or how they want to spend their time. For parents, the challenge is that as their children get older, their goals change. And, very seldom are the children’s goals identical to the parents’ when they were the children’s same age. So the issue is actually one of transformation. You need to figure out how to learn the goals of your direct reports or kids and transform them into your own goals. For example, my employee wants to lead a creative project. If they can accomplish their other assignments successfully and ahead of schedule, I’m very supportive of letting them lead a creative assignment from start to finish. If my teenager wants to drive, I’m very supportive of letting her use the family car as long as she gets great grades and abides by the house rules.
6. Care: When people truly feel cared for by others, they are more willing to change. When they don’t feel cared for, they feel like they’re being coerced or forced to change.
7. Knowledge and Ability: When people know they have both the knowledge and ability to change, it’s easier to become motivated to change. What’s interesting is that most people do have the ability to change. When you look at track records of successfully implementing a change, most people are highly successful. However, they don’t usually acknowledge this fact. When people acknowledge they have both the ability and the knowledge, the process of changing becomes easier.
8. Rewards: When the reward is big enough, most people are motivated to change. What’s challenging is not knowing whether the person you’re trying to influence is motivated by pain or pleasure. It truly is different strokes for different folks.

Successful leaders know that it’s critical to acknowledge the need for change, then help employees buy into, and implement, the change. First, they ensure employees have all the tools and resources they need to successfully master the change. Then they work hard to diligently remove the obstacles and roadblocks so that their team can achieve the change. These leaders make sure that they are accessible and approachable, reaching out to personally answer questions, address problems and assure employees that they will be successful in a rapidly changing environment.