Recently, I spoke at the Experiment Nation Conference. In my presentation, I covered change management to achieve a culture of experimentation. The most influential person to facilitate or completely block change management is you! In this article, I discuss the influence of your communication.

How to block organizational change

Last year, I wrote about how to stop organizational change as a CRO specialist (How the CRO specialist unwittingly blocks organizational change). The example below illustrates this.

A CRO specialist is enthusiastic about his work and tries to convince others to work in the same way. Instead of helping and engaging others, however, the specialist tries to impose his work on his manager and immediate colleagues. This often involves trying to convince others with mere facts. But coercion and (only) facts are not the way to go.

With this behavior, the specialist actually reinforces his colleagues' undesirable behavior, which in turn stimulates the specialist's behavior. This creates a vicious circle.

If you expect resistance from your colleagues, you automatically become more determined and detached. That way you get the resistance you feared (a self-fulfilling prophecy).

How to facilitate organizational change

You probably know Cialdini's six principles. Two of these principles (Sympathy and Authority) apply to you as a person facilitating organizational change: be a sympathetic authority.

As a sympathetic authority

• Are you passionate but modest
• are you approachable
• show interest in others and tune in to them
• build your trust with colleagues
• Never tell people they are wrong
• respect the opinions of your colleagues

And most importantly, help your colleagues their achieve goals by experimenting rather than trying to achieve your own goals.

Here are a few essential skills for communicating as a sympathetic authority.

Listen

Listening is a key to overcoming resistance and initiating progress. The best way to get people to listen and accept your ideas is to listen to them first.

Listening creates a shared connection between you and your interlocutor. It gives others a chance to share their feelings and concerns. When we feel that we are being listened to, it generates a certain level of trust.

To listen well, you must first manage your own emotions. Emotions such as frustration, fear and anger hinder your ability to reason clearly and develop nuanced strategies.

While listening, try to understand what drives the other person and what concerns them. It shows how you can help them experiment or get involved. It's about finding a win-win situation.

Tailoring to their personality

Now that you understand the other person, you need to tune in.

Everyone has their favorite way of communicating and handles things differently. Therefore, to share your message effectively and build relationships and trust faster, you need to match your communication style.

One way to do this is to use personality types. The theories are not yet scientifically proven, but they act as a great starting point.

These personality types have different names. Insights Discovery and DISC are very similar and you may recognize them from people saying “he is very blue” or “the company culture is typically yellow.”.

In their book Growing Happy Clients D. Tideman and W. van Gasteren show the cheat sheet below. I use it when I meet a new (potential) client or stakeholder.

Side note: the book is highly recommended for all digital consultants, managers and leads.

Alignment happens in all forms of communication. And not only in the words you say, but also in the things you do. Some people like to participate, others like to see only the results of your experiments, and still others want to see only the business impact you make.

If you can learn how best to communicate with your colleagues or stakeholders and then adapt your style to theirs, you will build good relationships and trust faster.

Be authentic

To further build trust, you must be authentic.

People don't trust what they don't understand, and that creates resistance. Therefore, be open about your feelings, challenges and experiences.

Give examples of how you proceed and handle difficult situations. Authentic people are more likely to be able to engage others and adopt a constructive and open approach, leading to fine working relationships and successful change.

Show empathy and understanding of the other person's emotions. Tell the other person that you understand and acknowledge their position and feelings. Make people feel that you respect them and their interests.

On the way to yes

You know how to listen and tune in, you are authentic and you show empathy. The next step is to get your message across.

Some people will be enthusiastic about experimenting from the start. Others will gladly accept your help in getting their ideas tested. But for some people, convincing them of your ideas will be a little more difficult.

Don't avoid difficult conversations. Unpleasant conversations are often avoided because the outcomes are unpredictable and the stakes are high. However, it is worthwhile if there is a chance that it can improve the culture of experimentation and your success.

The goal during conversations should never be to want to ‘win,’ as if the other person is your opponent. Instead, focus on finding a long-term solution together. Try to separate business and personal interests.

Before looking for solutions, you need to understand the underlying interest of the other person and yourself. The best solutions arise when people share information freely. People are more likely to fully commit to solutions that are the result of an open dialogue within which ideas and information are freely shared.

Once you have identified the differences, it is much easier to come up with solutions. Be open to discussing all kinds of possible solutions and only accept one that both parties can agree on.

Then put the decision into practice by clearly recording who does what and when.

Be a sympathetic authority

In summary, be a ‘sympathetic authority’ and tailor your communication accordingly. Listen, tune in, be authentic and focus together on long-term solutions.

In theory, a conversation should always lead to better results, but you can never force the other person to act a certain way. If it is impossible to find a win-win situation, focus your energy and efforts elsewhere in the company, such as on other directors or stakeholders.

Step by step, you get more people on board, getting closer and closer to a culture of experimentation.

Presentation on YouTube

Want to learn more about this topic? YouTube features the full recording of Ruben's presentation:

Change management for Experimentation Culture - Do's and Don'ts (Ruben de Boer)

Resources

Growing happy clients - Daphne Tideman

Break the cycle - Arend Ardon

Getting to yes - Roger Fisher

Difficult conversations - Douglas Stone

Crucial conversations - Kerry Patterson

Just listen - Mark Goulston

CRO soft skills - Elise Maile

Leading Change: 10 Ways Great Leaders Make Change Happen - Tracy Brower