I often “hit a wall” when trying to persuade my two-year-old daughter to do something. Requests, threats, negotiations, and persuasion often prove ineffective:
– “Will you eat a cucumber?”
– “No!”—comes her resolute answer.
Yet, if her older brother, five years her senior, takes the first bite, her previous resistance disappears entirely. And how can one not feel a little jealous?…
It helps me to remember that the mechanism I observe in my children works similarly “in the adult world,” where company leaders seek the support of informal opinion leaders to influence employees and successfully implement organizational changes.

When you don’t know what to do… do what others do

Since the experiments with the Bobo doll conducted on children by psychologist Albert Bandura in the 1960s, we have gained a better understanding of how much our behavior is influenced by observing others. So-called social learning explains how we know how to behave among friends versus at a formal event, why fashion trends change, and how slang expressions spread (1). People learn a great deal by watching others. That’s why modeling behavior—simply put, leading by example— is more important than persuasion.

Meanwhile, Robert Cialdini, describing the principle of social proof, cites numerous examples of situations in which people judge behavior as appropriate or inappropriate based on the actions of others. Simply put, we consider a behavior correct (and act accordingly ourselves) when we see others doing the same (2). Moreover, we look for cues on how to behave by observing people similar to ourselves. That is why peer instructors are most effective in school anti-smoking programs. Similarly, the best results in overcoming fear of the dentist, fear of dogs, or social inhibitions in preschoolers come from observing modeled behavior in other children of the same age.
In the workplace, employees are more likely to watch how Janek—their local, informal leader—responds to change, rather than their manager, Zośka. After all, Janek is “one of them,” while Zośka is probably just doing what management tells her to do…

Innovators, Early Adopters… and Then the Rest

Paul Marsden, a digital media researcher at the London School of Economics, argues that the key to marketing success is winning over opinion leaders — …that 10% of the market tells the remaining 90% of consumers what to think, say, and buy (3)
Applied to internal company communication, gaining the support of opinion-forming leaders is the gateway to the hearts of other employees, many of whom remain highly skeptical and detached from planned changes.
How does this attitude distribute across a population? Over half a century ago, Everett M. Rogers, author of the diffusion of innovations model, used empirical research to define five categories of people based on their attitude toward innovation and their willingness to adopt new products. He also estimated the percentage share of each group within the population (4). Starting with the most pro-innovation group, he identified:

• innovators (2,5%), risk-takers who are the first to try new things,
• early adopters (13,5%), who shape opinions within their community,
• early majority(34%), who adopt a new product earlier than the average consumer,
• late majority (34%), skeptics who adopt a product only after others have tried it,
• laggards, late adopters (16%), who fear change and resist it until it becomes widespread or unavoidable.

In our team, we may also have innovators who eagerly embrace change. We can count on the early adopters as well. However, it takes a lot of energy to “shift” the rest of the team to work according to the new rules. That’s why it’s so important to leverage the potential of innovators and early adopters to kickstart the process—like a snowball that, once it reaches a critical mass, becomes a vehicle for moving the entire team to a new—and better—state of play. Eventually, even the laggards will follow.

Opinion Leader – who are they?

The incredible pace and dynamics of change mean that years of professional experience are no longer a guarantee of high competence, and one’s position in the company hierarchy is no longer sufficient to build authority. It is not surprising to see a young employee acting as a mentor in, for example, digital technology to an experienced expert. The importance of formal authority is declining, while employees increasingly value the opinions of their peers. Knowledge comes from colleagues who have earned respect through their skills and relationships within the team, rather than through a formal position. Alongside the official organizational structure exists an independent extensive network of relationship and informal communication channels. In this system, opinion leaders are key—extremely important for effectively and sustainably implementing change in an organization.

Opinion leaders are employees who typically:

• are experts, with deep knowledge of a specific technology, process, or product—their expertise and experience allow them to assess the feasibility of proposed changes or anticipate the impact of their implementation (at least in terms of effects on rank-and-file employees),
• have the courage to probe and ask insightful questions (which we may perceive as uncomfortable…) and, when necessary, are willing to engage in debate and present a different point of view,
• are willing, to share their knowledge—they are the people colleagues turn to when you ask a difficult question or have doubts about interpreting certain facts or events,
• have extensive networks and relationships with other employees, which is why they often serve as communication hubs—they are highly aware of what is happening within the team and the organization.

Instead of traditional, one-way internal communication (emails from management, internal newsletters, or messages on the company intranet), it is more effective to engage employees who are respected by their peers, making them our “on-the-ground” partners . Opinion leaders should be involved in the communication process from the design stage, giving them the role of implementation leaders.

This approach allows important information to reach a wide audience much more effectively—if the leaders themselves are convinced of the value of the changes being implemented, they can select more appropriate arguments to demonstrate the rationale behind the actions, and their colleagues – can get answers to pressing questions more quickly. Opinion leaders can also be incredibly helpful when dealing with “difficult cases”—individuals who, for various reasons, struggle to accept the changes being introduced, as charmingly illustrated in the conversation between Basil the penguin and the preschool penguin in John Kotter’s story When the Iceberg Melts (5).

How to optimally leverage opinion leaders during change implementation?

Opinion leaders are the people worth investing in first.They need to become our allies—and the sooner this happens, the faster and more efficiently we can secure the engagement of the rest of the employees.

Is it worth carefully compiling a list of individuals,who serve as opinion leaders within their circles. We cannot dedicate as much time to each person as we would like, so during the selection process, it is important to ensure their “distribution” across the organization, so that even a small group can effectively “cover” the largest possible portion of the employee population. In other words, it’s important to make sure that every significant—formal or informal—group of employees has a representative on our list.

A common mistake is trying to ignore our potential opponents. Although it’s not easy, it is definitely worth addressing their resistance. People who were previously opposed to the change and had the courage to express their opinions publicly are usually highly respected by the team for that very courage. When we manage to persuade such individuals to change their stance, their authority begins to work in favor of the change we are implementing.

How to build engagement among opinion leaders?

An effective change implementation strategy involves engaging informal leaders in the process. In practice, this means asking for their opinions on planned solutions and gauging how the team might respond to proposed changes. Inviting leaders to discuss the final version of communication to employees also gives them a sense of influence and strengthens their authority.

If an opinion leader has extensive knowledge in a given area, it is worth leveraging their experience. We can plan implementation or communication activities together, taking into account their ideas and suggestions, as well as their preferred way of working. For example, if our informal leader primarily communicates with others through social media, it makes sense to provide them with tools that support this method—such as digital articles they can share via links.

Some managers worry that involving informal leaders in project work will force them to share credit and authority. Jest to pewnego rodzaju pułapka. Tak długo, jak w nieformalnych liderach postrzegamy zagrożenie, tak długo nie będziemy mogli osiągnąć pełnego potencjału zespołu. Zaangażowanie liderów opinii, budowane w oparciu o wzajemne zaufanie, jest sposobem na osiągnięcie większych możliwości wpływu na cały zespół.

Wojciech Płuciennik

Bibliography:

Robert L. Johnson, Vivian McCann, Philip Zimbardo, Psychologia. Kluczowe koncepcje. Tom 2 , Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, Warszawa 2010.
Robert Cialdini, Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion , Gdańskie Wydawnictwo Psychologiczne, Gdańsk 2007.
Paul Marsden, Justin Kirby, Connected Marketing: The Viral, Buzz and Word of Mouth Revolution, Butterworth-Heinemann 2006.
Everett M. Rogers, Diffusion of innovations (5th ed.), Free Press 2003.
John P. Kotter, Holger Rathgeber, Peter Mueller, Spencer Johnson, Our Iceberg Is Melting: Changing and Succeeding Under Any Conditions , Onepress, Gliwice 2008.