Using the Six Sources of Influence Model to Drive Adoption
In my last blog, I examined the role of Change Management systems can play in driving effective adoption programs and projects.
According to Microsoft’s comprehensive guide to adoption, “successful adoption of new technology requires behavior change. And change can be hard.”
Not every organization has adopted a change management system, but that doesn’t mean you can’t bring change management and behavioral thinking to adoption. This can be accomplished by using one of the many change management models and tools available.
A practical behavioral tool I have found useful is the Six Sources of Influence Model. This useful model provides a way to ensure that your plan addresses both the user’s ability and motivation to adopt at multiple levels. The six sources are derived from the split between ability and motivation at a personal, social (peer group) and structural (organizational) level. These are the six sources:
Motivation | Ability |
1. Personal Motivation – Make the undesirable desirable | 2. Personal Ability – Surpass your limits |
3. Social Motivation – Harness Peer Pressure | 4. Social Ability – Find Strength in Numbers |
5. Structural Motivation – Design Rewards and Demand Accountability | 6. Structural Ability – Change the Environment |
The best way to use the tool is to map out a set of questions you need to answer to in each section and work through them. Once you have gone through that exercise you can then start to devise strategies in each of the six sections. You can find an example of this approach in this article and I have developed an example for Source 4: Social Ability below.
Source 4 Social Ability – Find Strength in Numbers | |
Questions |
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Strategy |
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It’s important to understand that you do not need six winning strategies to drive change (and adoption) more effectively. One or two effective strategies can make a substantial difference to the adoption effort.