Why Passion and Emotion Are Key Drivers of Sustainable Change

People are emotional beings. While many of us believe we make decisions based on logic, our emotions have a significant influence on our decision making process.

Creating an emotional connection with your team is vital to getting them to buy into organizational change. Once leaders establish a clear purpose for change (Part 1 of the 3P Change Equation to Stimulate Sustainable Change) they can then focus on demonstrating a passion for change.

Leaders need to back up the need for change by tapping into the passion and emotion of the people with whom they are working. When true leadership is demonstrated, others will follow. Connecting emotionally starts with your own behaviors and building trust and cooperation into your organizational DNA. You need to understand who your people are and what drives them.

Walk the Talk – Trust and Cooperation

Leaders need to go first—lead by example and walk the talk if they want trust and cooperation from their team. Clarity opens the door for others to trust your decisions.

When you have clarity of purpose, you have confidence to make tough decisions – and there is inherent TRANSPARENCY in your decision-making that your team can see. This creates TRUST. When people have a shared purpose, then they inherently work together for a common goal. This creates COOPERATION.

Leaders need to understand that they cannot do it alone. You need a good team around you to achieve organizational success. Lack of trust can create uncertainty and cause leaders to question themselves and others to question the decisions made by leadership.

Leaders set the tone with their behaviors. Without strong, guiding leadership, change is unlikely; without trust and cooperation, change is impossible.

The Benefits of Trustworthy Leadership

Team members are more willing to buy into change if they trust leadership. Establishing a trusting relationship with your team makes them more open to new ideas and it also helps to establish a dialogue about change. True leadership isn’t getting others to follow you – it’s finding others who share your vision to join you, and this can only happen if they understand and trust your vision for change.

Getting your team to buy into or adopt your vision starts with hiring the right people, establishing a collaborative environment, and being open and honest about things that are happening. A simple daily team huddle, team meeting, or even a weekly email update to keep your team in the loop promotes transparency and establishes trust.

When your team trusts you, they will be more willing to try new things, be open to suggestions, offer honest feedback to leaders, ask for clarification and help when they need it, and be willing to see new perspectives.

Transformational leaders understand the need to frame change in a way that taps into people’s emotions, aligns with their passion and purpose, and engages them in the process — so they see it as an opportunity instead of a threat. That is what makes people willing to endure the pain of change and trust in the process.

Passion is the main driver of change because it leverages the power of your people. Without passion and proving that you walk the talk, even the best strategic initiative and change management plans will get trampled.

Once you have a clear purpose, and communicate your passion for change, you can then introduce the process to create change. The next article in the series will discuss why leaders need to have a clear process for making change stick.