A push-pull strategy for change: one basic way to win followers is to articulate demand for change and put people in touch with their own discontent about the status quo.

• Author: Armajani, Babak
• Position: Viewpoint essay

Leadership is about winning followers.

Do you sometimes encounter people who just don't get the need for change? Or who fail to see the benefits? Jim Chrisinger, who managed numerous reforms in Iowa state government, observes, "The fight argues for less government; the left for more government, Who's demanding better government?"

These were among the questions I raised in an earlier column ("A Formula for Leadership," available at http://wwwgoverning.com/mgmt_insight.aspx?id=5 260), in which I asserted that managing change cannot be reduced to mechanical steps. I suggested that if you are a leader who wants to make change, you should develop a strategy. Further, I recommended a formula developed by the Center for Creative Leadership that others have found useful as a template for developing a change strategy:

D (demand) xV (vision) x K (knowledge of next steps) x B (belief) > R (resistance)

Smart leaders cultivate each of the elements of this formula, thereby making change inevitable. This month, I would like to focus on the first two elements of the formula.

MOBILIZING DEMAND FOR CHANGE

Before change can happen, a critical mass of people has to reach a level of discontent with the status quo that compels them to try something different. Forming that critical mass is usually easier than you might think. Yet this aspect of change making is often completely neglected.

If you sense a need for change, chances are others do as well. Leadership is about winning followers. One basic way to do so is to articulate demand for change and put people in touch with their own discontent about the status quo. Combined with a compelling vision of a better future (see below), these two forces are an engine that can create enough power to overcome inertia.

Try these tactics to mobilize demand for change:

* Build a close link between your people and their customers. Sometimes people are more motivated to make their customers happy than they are to make you happy How could you help your people get direct feedback from those whom they serve?

* Use money to create demand. The cement that holds the status quo together in most public organizations is the budget. Most government budgets are based on last year's allocation. If you choose to spend your money as you did last year, neither the budget office nor elected officials are likely to challenge you. How could you invite people in your organization to fundamentally rethink how resources are allocated?

* Make sure...