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Helping People to Become More Ready for Change
Many of us are in roles where we are helping people to embrace change - whether this be as a Team Leader in helping adapt to workplace changes or as a counsellor or community worker working with people stuck in problem patterns of behaviour.
I was recently speaking with a friend about a model he follows to influence his clients to take action. The model my friend uses is based on the work on American Sales Pioneer, E. St. Elmo Lewis, who in 1898 created a model to explain the mechanism of selling a product or service to a client.
Lewis developed his model based on customer service studies in the US Life Insurance market. Today's article explores Lewis' model from the perspective of people in helping roles. I hope you enjoy it.
Lewis used the acronym, AIDAS, to explain the process people go through in influencing change in others.
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Attention - You may already have the attention of your clients because they already want to change and see you as an important part in helping them to do so. You might also have been recommended to that person.
But for others, you may have to work at developing a relationship where they see you as someone they are prepared to work with. You might do this by simply being approachable or explaining how you work. For some who have a history of being hurt by others, this trust may be built only over a period of time.
Part of gaining someone's attention is giving them your attention first, particularly in regard to emotions. How are they feeling about the status quo or how are others feeling? Everyone has a story to tell and they will be more open to hearing what you have to say if you first demonstrate that you understand how they are seeing their situation.
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Interest - You can increase their interest in change by finding out about what they want in regards to the challenges before them. Part of increasing their interest is focusing on consequences. What are the consequences of not taking action or the benefits in doing so? Many women who came to see me for relationship counselling would often complain about their partner's reluctance to attend. However, many of these men became highly motivated to explore change when their partner initiated separation. The consequences of inaction were motivating for many of these men.
You can also increase a person's interest in change by accessing their ideas of what is going to help. People have expertise on themselves and their situations - we are foolish to ignore this - and need to exhaust their ideas before we offer our own suggestions.
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Desire - Here you need to find what is motivating for a particular individual. For those who are already motivated, we can simply ask them, 'Why do you want to do something about this?' Although this can sound like a dumb question asking people to explain why they want to save a relationship or address problem drinking, their answers will help you to identify what is motivating for this person. Remember to ask if there are other reasons as well - often there is more than one reason causing an individual to desire change.
Whenever you find something that is supportive of change, focus in on this issue more. It is a bit like tuning into a radio station and then turning up the volume whenever you find language that is supportive of change. For example, 'Can you tell me more about why saving this relationship is so important to you?'
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Action - Here we are exploring what actions people are willing to take to go more in the direction they want to go. If they are not up to taking direct action, they may be willing to notice what they are doing that is already helping or to think more about what they can do to help.
Ideally, they will be prepared to act, perhaps running with one or two of their own ideas wherever possible. People are more likely to do those things they have suggested themselves. If they have no ideas, you might instead offer people a range of options and let people choose which of these they are willing to act on.
It can also be helpful to identify possible barriers to taking action and how these might be overcome. Such barriers might include unhelpful thinking such as, 'I have tried to change before. What's the point?' Or 'There is nothing I can do. It is only the other person who needs to change.'
A team member might need sufficient training or support. A client might have a mental health condition which needs to be addressed so they can be in a better position to embrace change.
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Satisfaction - Great Team Leaders, Health Workers, and Therapists know that the more they are open to feedback from the people with whom they are working and adjusting their approach accordingly, the better the outcomes. The challenge, however, is making it easier for people to speak up.
We can do so by making ourselves approachable, especially to people who may be intimidated by us or be concerned about the consequences of letting us know they are unhappy with something. We can also be accessible, let people know we are open to feedback, and make it a routine part of what we do.
Despite doing our best to make ourselves approachable, some people will still be reluctant to speak up. They will, however, give feedback through their behaviour. The lack of progress or people withdrawing are two behaviours that may well indicate that something is not working for them.
A team member, for example, may be giving feedback by being overly negative or taking unplanned leave. Here we need to try something (anything) different to see if a different approach is more helpful or change the person who is working with them.
The question now is how can you use attention, interest, desire, action, and satisfaction to better help people to embrace change?
Although this sounds simple, people are often complex and difficult - being difficult to engage, saying the things we want to hear but not really being committed to change, working against their own best interests, having very unhelpful theories as to what is going to help - these are very real challenges that many of us have experienced.
If you are interested in working more effectively with complex and difficult clients, check out my upcoming workshops below.
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Ken Warren BA, M Soc Sc, CSP is an expert on People Skills and Human Behaviour. With his engaging, interactive and positive presentations, Ken has shown thousands how to improve team performance, provide great customer service, and enhance staff resiliency. Check out all his FREE resources at www.positivepeoplesolutions.com.au
  
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