TWHS#100: Leading Change: Why Starting With "Here's How" Always Fails

 Hi Folks

I see it constantly in tech: smart, capable people trying to drive change by jumping straight to the solution.

"Here's the new process. Here's the documentation. Now go do it."

Then they're baffled when nothing happens.

The problem? They started with knowledge when they should've started with awareness.

The ADKAR Framework

Ben Caird joined me on the podcast to talk through leading change effectively. We dug into ADKAR - a simple but powerful framework:

• Awareness - People understand the problem or opportunity
• Desire - People actually want to fix it
• Knowledge - People know what to do differently
• Ability/Action - People take the steps and you remove friction
• Reinforce - You keep momentum through recognition and feedback

Most techies skip straight to Knowledge. We're excited about the shiny solution, so we explain how it works. But nobody cares yet because we haven't made them care.

Awareness: Start With The Problem

Don't start with your brilliant solution. Start with the pain.

People need to understand what's broken or what opportunity exists. This isn't a broadcast email to an entire organisation. It's multiple conversations through different channels with different people.

Ben Caird shared how his team once created a cartoon character called Colin bouncing through a video explaining the problem and opportunity. Bit cheesy? Yes. But memorable and it worked.

Make the problem real. Make it relevant to each person's world.

Desire: Make Them Want To Change

Knowing there's a problem isn't enough. People have to actually want to fix it.

This is where change agents matter. Sometimes your team will listen to a respected peer more than they'll listen to you. Pick people others look to and get them excited first.

As Ben said: "Humans are geared to resist change. We like how things are." Your job is to help people see why change is worth the effort - in language that resonates with them individually.

Knowledge: Give Them The Recipe

Only now do you explain how the change works.

Create quick reference guides. Map the before and after. Make it easy to consume - one sentence for the experienced person, detailed steps for the first-timer.

But here's the trap: most techies start here. We get excited about the solution and explain how it works before anyone cares. Don't do that.

Ability/Action: Remove The Friction

Ring-fence time for people to actually do the thing differently. Have experts available when the switch happens.

Ben's team used "floor walkers" during migrations - people over shoulders helping when things didn't work, feeding back issues for quick fixes.

You can't just look at documentation forever. At some point you need to lift the weights, use the new process, adopt the new tool. Make that as frictionless as possible.

Reinforce: Keep The Momentum

Track adoption. Share feedback loops showing "you told us this, here's what we did." Recognize people driving the change forward.

As Ben put it: "You get what you inspect." Don't beat people up, but understand where specific teams need more support or where leaders need to drive more accountability.

Changes that last need reinforcement, recognition, and continuous improvement.

Your Next Step

Pick a change you're trying to drive. Where are you starting? If it's at Knowledge, back up. Do the awareness and desire work first.

Want the full conversation? Listen to the episode at TechWorldHumanSkills.com

Hope this helps.

BenP

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• Leaders In Tech: Raise the impact of your team.  Make them more influential, memorable and successful with customers everyday.  The Technical Storytelling Professional Program enables them to create clarity, generate energy and drive the results you need.
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