Minute With Mallon: Decoding People Types for Change Success
👋🏻 Hi, and welcome to Minute with Mallon!
Something I Taught:
Recently I was working with several leaders of a company who are having to make a big change that they were suspecting wouldn't be accepted well by "the employees."
Notice that they used the words, "the employees." That's an all-or-nothing statement, and a massive generalization. I pointed out to them that in reality there are five different types of employees, as illustrated by the following picture:
The way I teach this to leaders is an analogy I came up with that goes like this:
Let's suppose the new iPhone is coming out. It's got all the bells and whistles.
Innovators: These are the ones who work at Apple and developed the iPhone.
Early Adaptors: These are the folks who are at the Apple store the day of the release or within the first month or so.
Early Majority: These are the folks who will buy the new model when their current phone dies.
Late Majority: These are the folks who still have the iPhone 4, it's had a cracked screen for 6 months, and they brag about how it can fit in their pocket and no one can tell it's there because of the size. 🪨📱😅
Laggards (Diehards!): They still have the Motorola Razr V3 from 2004 and refuse to get a smartphone even though their battery has a life of 15 minutes! 😜
You get the picture…
So here's the point: I asked each of them to come up with a list of their employees who were Early Adaptors and a few of the Early Majority who are positive, open to change, and close to being Early Adaptors. Once they had come up with a list of names, we devised a plan to roll out the new changes to the people on the list first, knowing that they tend to be the people whose glasses are half full. In other words, the changes were presented to the people most likely to see the benefit.
These people then help roll out the change to the rest of the team, including the Laggards. In effect, the employees become cheerleaders for the change, helping the others to see the benefits that will come.
Instead of management doing it alone, these employees champion the change, so it doesn’t feel as though unwelcome change is always being imposed from above.
And remember, Laggards are the ones who resist change the most, but even they can eventually adapt when they see the benefits. Food for thought next time you have a situation like this.
Something to Ponder:
"Innovators are the ones who find the opportunities in change, and early adopters are the ones who drive it forward. The rest will follow eventually."
Simon Sinek
Something I Learned:
There's a man named Ed Mylett. He's written quite a few books, and is an incredible teacher and communicator. I recently read a book by him called #Maxout Your Life
Here is a passage that I liked – I hope it resonates with you too!
"If I can control the beginning and end of my day, then I’m much more likely to control the middle. Most people lose control of their day in the first ten minutes because they wake up worried and stressed without positive habits, and they begin to react to it immediately. If you don’t have structure to help keep control of your day (proactive), then you are susceptible to whatever life throws at you (reactive). Being reactive prevents you from making strategic decisions, and you just go where life kicks you. Developing habits that provide structure give you a greater chance of operating proactively versus reactively."
Something I Saw:
My wife Sandy is an Artist! (And yes I’m bragging!)
"Discover the tools and insights to elevate your leadership. Your first step? Subscribe at www.RobertMallon.com.
Hope you have an incredible week!
Robert
