Change spreads like a virus.
This idea was popularised by the likes of Malcolm Gladwell in ‘The Tipping Point’:
“Ideas and products and messages and behaviours spread like viruses do”
Malcolm Gladwell
And by Leandro Herrero in his seminal book ‘Viral Change’ (2006).
Here Herrero explains his theory of viral change as:
“A small set of non-negotiable behaviours are defined and a process to encourage and spread these behaviours is adopted…endorsed by a small network of people, and this spreads new ways of doing things, quickly and effectively”
Leandro Herrero
And yet despite this, many organisations still adopt ‘The Tsunami approach’ to change; a forcible wave from top-down that will (hopefully) sweep up everything in its past resulting in the desired change.
Both Gladwell and Herrero propose that actually, effective change can begin with a small group of people, your Change Champions, spreading the new ways of doing something across their network, using more of a ripple approach to change than a tsunami. Think of the butterfly effect, a butterfly flaps its wings in Brazil and there is a storm in India – small behaviours can result in big things.
To see what we mean, here’s a humorous but very real example of a Change Champions at work…
As our Music Festival friend demonstrates, some of the long-held myths of change are busted.
It is possible that when just one person starts something, if it seems like a good idea, a small movement can grow, then others soon follow, and eventually everyone joins in the change party!
Using change champions is a simple and practical way to use viral change in your organisation.
If you’re wondering where to start here are a few FAQs to get you going:
Why are Champions important?
The Champions are your butterflies! They help to define the small set of non-negotiable behaviours, which will spark the change. They will be connecting and networking with each other, as well as employees, from different departments and teams, and communicating with the exec board.
What are the non-negotiable behaviours?
Non-negotiable behaviours are a critical part of this change approach. They take the large/intangible ideas and concepts of a change and break them down, into tangible actions, advising exactly what needs to happen to change.
For example, you identify a toxic culture, but what does this mean? Further analysis may reveal the problem is with communication – everyone agrees we need better communication! But again this feels intangible, what does better communication mean specifically what do I need to do to help change this??
Well, a non-negotiable behaviour can be as simple as a Change Champion walking through the office and speaking to people. Or maybe they decide to pick up the phone more often and speak directly to people rather than relying on email.
What about a lack of communication, where perhaps not everyone across different roles and teams feels that they are up-to-date, or in the loop?
In this instance, a non-negotiable behaviour could be that Champions set aside ten minutes each day to discuss what’s on their team’s minds – what they think they would like to see happen.
How do we implement the use of Change Champions
1. Defining the role and responsibilities of the group
The roles and responsibilities of an employee-led group will very much depend on the context of what you are trying to achieve within your own organisation.
2. Recruiting members
Once you have defined the roles and responsibilities of the group, it’s important to get the right people involved from the outset. There are a number of ways you can recruit members:
- Advertise the group and the role itself and recruit members as you would for any role within your organisation
- Have an election based approach where potential candidates campaign to be elected onto the group
- Ask for volunteers to sign up to be a part of the group via a company wide communication campaign
- Ask teams or business units to put forward their own representatives
- Or you can pick people yourself, if you think this would give you the best result
3. Establishing a purpose
Whilst roles and responsibilities may have been set prior to the formation of the group, involving the group in defining their purpose once formed is ideal. This can be done within the first meet-up of the group and helps to give the group direction for their activities. It can be as simple as a one-line statement or a more in depth ‘terms of reference’, whatever works for you.
4. Developing the team
It’s important to ensure that change champions (or whichever term you use to define members of the group) have the right skills to fulfill their role. At the most basic level, I would recommend running an on-boarding session, which provides some of the basics of the change you are involving them in: what it is, why it matters and desired outcomes. It’s important that this group feel like experts and have the knowledge required to overcome criticism.
5. Defining success criteria
Success criteria should be with the team to define from the outset. Not only will this enable you to track and monitor progress but also to help the team to view the difference they are making to the organisation. It also enables reporting back up the line, to demonstrate the value add of this approach to senior management.
6. Rewarding and recognising team members
Employees undertaking this additional role need to be valued, and recognized for the additional contribution they are making.
This approach helps to empower a small but influential group of employees to own, develop and help deliver your change strategy at a local level, making small but significant changes.
Want to know how we can help create change in your organisation? Download our free guide to developing champions or request a call-back here for a no-obligation chat!
