How do change agents differ from other roles in organizational change management?
Agents of change can help to reduce resistance to change by those affected by it and involved with it. A change agent takes a particular role within a transformational initiative by acting as a support of the change, and a trusted conduit between leadership and the rest of the organization. A good change agent will help to ‘sell’ the idea to them for why the transformational change is required. Getting buy-in to what is wrong with the current situation, and painting the vision of what the future following the change could look like, are the first two critical stages of any transformation where the use of change agents is vital. In any project, there will always be some people who don’t agree with the need for change, but the transformation will be difficult to achieve and sustain unless a significant majority support the change.
Engaging change agents early in any transformation is essential, as they can help to avoid and address any issues well before they affect implementation. Use of change agents can create a ‘snowball’ effect: as a change agent successfully influences an individual to support the transformation, that individual can in turn help to influence their colleagues, effectively acting as a change agent themselves. This can rapidly increase the number of people acting as agents for change, helping to ensure the success of the transformation. Good leaders can also be change agents, but the best leaders also inspire, encourage and empower others to be change agents, thereby building a culture of leadership and learning. As an example of this in practice, consider the rapid growth and spread of the world’s major religions. Each religion started with one leader that was also a change agent, successfully inspiring and influencing a small number of others to support their particular transformational objectives by becoming change agents themselves. They then influenced more individuals, who themselves became change agents, and so on.