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Working through change can be challenging – this includes changing a practice and/or taking on a new technologies with new skills. A framework I am finding useful is the stages of attitudinal change.

This simple model is highlighted in the photo in this blog.

When think about a new technology we are initially Ignorant of it, next we become Aware, followed by Intent to do something about it. We then reach a critical point where a decision is made to step over the line and Perform or not. Finally we maintain – continue to use or reject the technology.

The key to this model for me is how we present information at each stage of the model.

Ignorance – At ignorance people are not aware; we need to capture their attention. This is not a time to bombard them with fact sheets and information, these will most likely end up in the bin. We need to be thinking about the emotional hooks, what can we do to create attention to create the awareness.

Awareness – This becomes a time for information and fact sheets. However provide people with what they REALLY need to know, not every piece of information you have on the topic. Keep the information succinct, easy to follow and neatly packaged. Provide links to more information so the data hungry person can research themselves.

Intent – At this stage the thinking will be “how will this work for me?” , “How would I integrate this into my current system?” Provide coaching to assist with the decision making process so the ownership lies with the decision maker rather than the facilitator or coach.

Perform – Once the decision to take on the change has been made people move  to the “doing”. Support through mentoring is an ideal way to ensure the new skill is maintained. Further information and research may be required and the change may need to be “tweaked” to fit in with current systems or thinking.

Maintain – It is now necessary to evaluate the change, and modify or reject if required. In this fast paced world evaluation is a step that is often overlooked, a coaching or mentoring approach works well here. Further support to maintain the change may also be required.

This framework has been modified from  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transtheoretical_model by Bruce Howie whom I co- facilitated with in his workshop “How to drive adoption of technology.”

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