Influencing for Real Change

In my earlier blog The Software Reformation, I outlined that we are in a time of significant change in the Software Industry.

Change

Change has been a buzz word over the past few years and used for example by many majority political parties.

Aspirations for change can be good, with the caution that you do not end up throwing the baby out with the bath water. (That seems like a separate blog).

Making it happen?

The aspiration is one thing. Making it real is something else.

With the cultural change being strived for in software development there is a lot of talk about flattening the hierarchy and giving everyone a voice.

Everyone should feel and show a level of responsibility and show leadership in areas where they can.

This is not easy to achieve. Many people naturally with look for leaders in a group.

We need to be able to influence those people over time with day to day mentoring and coaching.

For me real change comes from influencing those around us and “down”. Yes I say “down” because you often hear the need to influence “up”.

Yet many in management still only look for those people who are masters at influencing “up” regardless of their ability to influence in the other direction, to the larger number of people who are the ONLY ones that can make it real.

Look out for and support others in your team — seeing change there can be personally very rewarding. More rewarding that something “official”.