How to create a desire for change?

In my previous article I wrote about Awareness - reflecting on my study and application of the Prosci* ADKAR (Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability, Reinforcement) model. Awareness enables people to understand the “why” behind the change and begin the process of evaluating a change.?

Desire is the next building block in the ADKAR change management model – as I like to show and will describe below.

What is Desire?

Desire is ultimately a personal choice to support and participate in the change. One way to look at it is to have an answer to a question WIIFM – ‘What’s in it for me?’

What are some common mistakes change leaders often make?

·??????Assuming that communicating reasons for change will also generate a desire to change.

·??????Assuming that leaders, managers cannot impact personal choices.

·??????Forgetting that managers are employees first.

How to Assess Desire?

Do people say that they have decided to support the change? Do they reasonably see themselves participating in the change? Do they want this change to happen? There are different ways to inquire and assess desire for change, including surveys, polls, team's observations and reflections, informal conversations, etc. Sufficient level of Desire needs to be achieved before moving to the next step Knowledge.

How to Increase Desire?

Here is a small personal example:

A few years ago my kids and I went to Washington DC. This trip was primarily focused on them.?My oldest child was determined we get cupcakes from a bakery featured on a popular reality TV show. My kids watched the show, really wanted to try the cupcakes and probably brag to their friends about the experience.

The idea sounded fine to me until I learned that we would need to wait in line for at least an hour to enter the store. My oldest child was committed to convincing everyone to wait in line. My youngest wanted the cupcakes but probably did not understand what it actually meant to stand in line for so long.?

Photo by?Cátia Matos?from?Pexels

I actually do not like cupcakes, and therefore, was not motivated by the prospect of eating a cupcake as a result. I certainly did not want to stand in line for so long...

And then, I reminded myself about the purpose of the trip, and decided that standing in line would be part of the experience. I was then ready not only to wait in line, but also to have the energy to help my daughters go through the long line with more fun, which we did. ?

Everyone was aware that standing in line was part of the deal to get cupcakes. Then, we needed to find the desire to do that. We all reached the desire state for our own reasons - tell friends about it, practice patience, find fun in the mundane, and, of course, eat some cupcakes at the end :).?

The specifics how to increase desire:

1.??????Remember change leaders, especially managers, can do a lot to impact the desire of their employees.

·??????Be proactive and plan your actions. Creating desire should not be planned for later in the process as you manage resistance. Create energy and enthusiasm. Capture hearts and minds. Tell stories. Make a personal appeal.

·??????Create space for listening and understanding objections. What are your biggest concerns with this change? What are your specific objections to this change? What can be helpful? Often the resistance is not about the change itself but how it will impact people personally.

·??????Share the good and the bad – it may be success stories and challenges from the past as well as approaches used to overcome challenges; it may be from the present and employees may want to work together on creating solutions. Some people just want to be included.

·??????Allow people to have a clear picture of the change and the consequence of not changing. This puts ownership on the employees and holds employees accountable.

·??????Reflect on and address the questions “What’s in it for me? Is this an opportunity or a threat?” – I find that the SCARF model** is offering a helpful framework to identify elements of Status, Certainty, Authority, Relatedness, and Fairness and find ways to increase them. ?

2.??????Remember that managers are ‘employees’ first and then they serve the ‘managers’ role. Managers are important contributors to implementing a change, however they can only do that once they go through the engagement steps themselves – specifically Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, and Ability. [Reflecting on a personal example – I, as a mother, needed to achieve desire first and only then I could be helpful to others in the family.]

3.??????How employees perceive change in the organization also depends on how much change is happening in general – each change takes energy. In addition, it depends on how changes were implemented in the past. For example, were awards and benefits gained after implementing changes? Or, did we start a change and then stop for no apparent reason?

4.??????Each person has a unique capacity for change and there may be personal situations that impact desire: health, relationships, family, career aspirations, and other aspects.

5.??????Finally, remember that you may be dealing with different personalities:

·??????Most people need space and time to process things. Some need more time than others. Their resistance may mean that they simply need more time to see how things can actually work. Consider being patient with them and being open to listening to their assessment of things.

·??????Some people need to feel included and be heard.

·??????You will have champions and supporters, of course. And, also those that will tell you “you should have done this a long time ago…” :)

·??????There will be those that will project support and say “yes” to many things. Be prepared for the possibility that they are actually not really pausing to process what the change means. You may need to invite them to pay attention, clarify, and confirm their commitment.?

Desire is ultimately a personal choice. While eating a cupcake will motivate many to stand in an hour long line, it will not motivate everyone. At the same time, we can find ways to get motivated to do that same thing because of other personal reasons. Relating to each individual and understanding what's important to them can help create that desire. Managers are the closest to their employees and can greatly contribute to achieving desire.

More to come…next week's review is on Knowledge.

Was this helpful? Let's engage in the comments!

References and for more information:

(*) Hiatt, Jeffrey M. (2006). ADKAR: a model for change in business, government and our community.

(*) Hiatt, Jeffrey M.; Creasey, Timothy J. (2012). Change Management: The People Side of Change (2nd ed.)

(*) Prosci Inc.

(**) SCARF model developed by Dr. David Rock