Fact: we can’t change the attitudes and habits of others. We can only do our best to influence, and let them take care of changing themselves. And that happens in other people’s timing, not necessarily in yours. Sometimes, the best thing you can do is just stand back and wait. To influence change, be patient.
Introduce an idea, and give people time to warm up to it. Implement a new system or process, and let people figure out for themselves that it will work. Forge a new path, and allow people a chance to catch up.
Organizational change is not an immediate phenomenon. Thankfully so – if things changed as quickly as we wished they would, we would all have whiplash! So be patient, and know that you can use all the influence strategies you want, but you can’t bypass the change itself.
What areas just need a little more patience on your part?
Read more of the 99 Ways to Influence Change.