A Case Analysis Through the Lens
of the 6 Sources of Influence

by Sebastian Anthony, Senior Consultant

December 14, 2023

I read an absolutely wonderful piece on HBR by Walker and Soule (article can be found here), and it’s so true that Culture cannot be mandated.  Having been in several change management efforts in organizations, I have seen them fail catastrophically several times.

The Case Study in the article of Dr. Reddy’s is also not by chance but by purpose. Firstly, Leaders need to have clarity of Purpose and then it’s about translating this purpose to the rest of the organization. Easier said than done…. or easier done than said?

Ultimately, it boils down to STRATEGY and the right TOOL. Strategy is about the Approach to take and know when to enter and to leave. Tools are the instruments that would take you there. Finding and using the right tool for the strategy would make the difference between success and failure.

In this respect, seen through the lens of the Influencer “6 Source Model”, it becomes quite clear why Dr. Reddy’s seemed to have achieved their goal of changing their corporate culture. They managed to utilize all the possible “Sources of Influence”.

Source 1 & 2: Personal Motivation & Ability

To elicit personal commitment from their staff, they asked everyone to make a “personal promise” or a commitment in their roles to contribute to “good health can’t wait”. This is a critical move as it “awakes the Giant within”. Most of us are drawn to something greater than ourselves. Calling for a commitment to a higher cause ennobles us.

The staff at Dr. Reddy’s had to then grasp new processes, that aligned to the “good health can’t wait”. New kinds of lean procedures needed to be learned and adopted. In most change management strategies, we have been involved with, the unlearning of old and learning of new practices are critical for success. They also established two innovation labs to explore the future of medicine. This move allows others to see success and gives them courage and confidence for change.

Source 3 & 4: Social Motivation & Ability

If leaders want to succeed in any change management effort, they need to “LEAD THE WAY”. In this respect, Dr. Reddy’s took the task of communicating the purpose and culture change ambitions to the rest of the organization. When leaders sacrifice time, money, or even ego, the staff knows the leaders are truly committed to the success of the change effort.

Dr. Reddy’s leadership team built “Social Capital” by inviting all employees to make the purpose their own. Through this process, it’s not a stretch of the imagination that probably not everyone would have come on board immediately. Thus, they would have had to rely on Opinion Leaders and deploy them to various roles, like teaching, coaching, or advocacy.

Source 5 & 6: Structural Motivation & Ability

It’s unclear from the HBR case study the kinds of rewards that Dr Reddy’s staff received during and following the success of the change management process, but it’s reasonable to assume that rewards were utilized. As a rule, it’s critical to link rewards to behaviors that directly contribute to the change management effort.

The usage of symbols and costumes does more than just build solidarity for movements. These symbols are a visual reminder of the movement itself and become a rallying call for others to be part of a positive movement for change. Similar in a way, of creating physical spaces and moving everyone involved in the change closer together, the symbols, in the forms of T-shirts, bumper stickers, or buttons occupy the “sight and mind space”.

The article concludes with “Culture change only happens when people take action”, we could not agree more. The question is, what specific action do people take? With the 6 Sources of Influence, at least that becomes much clearer.

Image: Change by Chris Lawton

#leadership #influencer #strategy #changemanagement