Prepare for change

Engaging people from the beginning is an important part of creating effective change. By giving others the opportunity to express their preferences and values, you increase their personal motivation for change. This initial dialogue also allows you to discover perspectives that you may not have thought of.

Start by identifying the people you need to involve. They could be decision makers and colleagues who have shown a particular interest in the topic or those who are generally collaborative and have a positive outlook.

Think about how you will approach initial conversations. Ask yourself: 

• How can I best explain what the change is about?
• How can I enable a shared understanding of how this change can benefit our clinic?
• How can we move forward together instead of just convincing the others that my solution is the best way?
• Which skills, expertise and values do the participants possess?
• How motivated are the participants?

Help your colleagues imagine the process by describing the general stages and activities. Be aware that only big milestones can be identified and planned at this stage. The specific action points will be decided upon by the group as you go through the process.

Focus the conversation on existing factors that work well and how you can work together to expand on them. If the change is about introducing a tool for person-centered counseling in your practice, such as an Ida tool, you can give examples of how the tool can be used.