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Make Change Happen with Social Currency
by Nancy Dailey, Ph.D. and Kelly O'Brien

People who can make things happen have one thing in common-social currency. Imperceptible, yet powerful all the same, social currency is like business accounting for goodwill. It1s the intangible value earned from the exchange of positive human interactions. Helpful relationships produce social currency. Regardless of your position in the social space at work, your social currency can wield influence and power to make change happen.

So what is social currency? It's the new power tool for today1s work world. Technology is pushing interdependence in our organizations faster than we can adapt. People need to mirror the technology: fast, focused, integrated, and web-like in their interactions with co-workers, clients, and vendors. People with social currency can move faster and be more effective because they have established trusted relationships. It1s these relationships that move others to change, to try new things, to explore possibilities.

Connect the dots.

Here's how it works-The more helpful relationships are, the more information is shared. The more information is shared, the more people feel connected. The more people feel connected, the more they trust the relationship. The more trust people feel, the faster the acceptance of change. That's why this notion of "social currency" is replacing information as a key power driver of change.

Having information by itself is no longer the same as having power. Just think of the number of emails you receive each day (and don't read). Distribution of information in organizations today, at least technically, is fast, focused and integrated. What is missing in organizations is the mechanism to make sense of all the information and for the information to make any difference. Information alone means very little. It's what people do with or about it that matters. That's where social currency comes in -- it attends to the ‘people side' of the equation -- where information gets transformed into knowledge, skill, and action.

Your relationship bank account.

Social currency is your relationship bank account. It is not charisma, a big title, or the power of your personality. It is earned influence and a learnable skill. Relationship skills are at the core of everything, both inside your organization and facing outward. To build up your relationship bank you need to take a conscious, purposeful, mindful approach to managing relationships (among people, departments, and stakeholders).

Try it out.

Make change with social currency. It will actually happen faster than you think if you attend to the people side of getting the work done. Try some of these ideas on your relationship network:
  • Think in web-like, non-linear ways (always ask who else should be included?)
  • Be a master bridge-builder of relationships for key people in your organization. Do warm introductions.
  • Think high tech and high touch.
  • Take time to give and ask for thoughtful feedback.
  • Send things of interest to people in your network.
  • Complement those who deserve recognition; avoid giving false praise.
  • View attention as a compliment; give it and receive it accordingly.
  • Put a "learning lens" on everything you do. Think: "What can I learn from this person or this interaction that will help us both?" Not: "How can I make this person do what I want?"
The art and science of dealing with the people side of the change equation is Change Management. As a practice, it draws from a multitude of social science disciplines to effectively bring people, technology, and ideas together at the same time.

Copyright 2002, Dailey & O'Brien, Inc. Reprinted with permission.

Dailey & O'Brien, Inc. is a change management consulting firm specializing in helping national and global Fortune 1000, non-profit, and government clients address the "people side" of technology implementation and organizational change. D&O is nationally recognized for its pioneering work in helping the financial services industry use Customer Relationship Management (CRM) strategy to penetrate and retain the women's consumer market. Look for D&O in Fast Company's Fast 50 in March 2002!

First published on BankersOnline.com 2/18/02




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