Working with Trailblazers & Early Adopters

How you approach change is crucial to your overall success and to the level of impact you will have in your organization. Being self-aware, and understanding your own strengths and weaknesses when it comes to change management is a good start, but often we fail to take it beyond this point.

Handling change rests on how well you work with people who hold an entirely different view on change.

Let’s look at two groups that tend to embrace change, the trailblazers and the early adopters.

Trailblazers like to initiate change. They are the ones that are at the head of the pack, driving the change. Many trailblazers will admit that they tire quickly of repetition, and seek roles that require both flexibility and adaptability.

Early adopters are similar, in the sense that they posses an open attitude towards change. They quickly see the advantages of new initiatives, and they are often the first to volunteer to try a new tool or technique.

If you are more of a traditionalist, someone that is resistant to change, then it can be difficult to partner and work with the trailblazers and the early adopters in your organization.

Success as a leader of change depends completely on being able to have honest insight into you own views, assumptions, and expectations around change. Staying within one’s own comfort zone may seem ideal at first, but it will only distance yourself from those who are in the other change categories.

Remember, each of the change attitudes (trailblazers, early adopters, traditionalists) can add value to your initiative. Trailblazers are your visionaries and strategists. They are crucial at the very beginner of your change journey. Early adopters are the experimenters, and therefore the cheerleaders. They are crucial for spreading the good word about your initiative throughout the company. Traditionalists force you to do the due diligence needed to convince them to come along. All three perspectives are important, and all three add value.

By focusing on the strengths and perspectives of the other change attitudes, you are ensuring that your initiative is inclusive. The last thing you want is to get to the end of your change project, and discover that you left a good chunk of your organization behind.