THE CHANGE AGENT'S GUIDE

Relating in Two Key Ways

Clearly building good relations for yourself and among members of the system does not all happen quickly. Rather, as the change effort proceeds, the change agent reaches out to more and more members of the system, and, as members come to grips with the concern and the challenge of problem solving, they become more interconnected and more able to collaborate.

A strong creative relationship can carry a change program through the most difficult obstacles. Your relationship with a prospective client system must be carefully planned and thought through if you are going to succeed with a project. This stage provides some specific criteria to help you assess your relationship with a client. If you know where you stand and know how your client sees you, you will be in a better position to build this relationship as the change effort progresses.

‘Relate’ involves two connected major tasks:

One. Understand the client as a social system, how the people and component social parts relate to one another, and to the larger social world in which they are embedded, and

Two. Understand and manage your relationship to the client.

Photo: person holding iPad with RELATE stage flowchart

Graphic: clipboard with 4 RELATE questions

Exploring RELATE Topics

Build good relationships with people you want to help.

The Change Agent's Guide explores Stage 2: RELATE through these sub-steps:

Stage 2.1: Whose is the Client?
Stage 2.2: Relating to the Larger Social Space
Stage 2.3: Where are you? Defining and Managing Your Own Role
Stage 2.4: Where are you starting from?
Stage 2.5: Assembling Your Change Team
Stage 2.6: Managing Initial Encounters
Stage 2.7: What is the Ideal Relationship?
Stage 2.8: Danger Signals
Stage 2.9: Size Up - Sum Up

To explore these topics, read The Change Agent's Guide.

Graphic: open books with change cycle on left page and RELATE flowchart on right page

RELATE Summary

Unquestionably, the successful relationship is the key to successful planned change. The sub-stages in the Relate stage are designed to help the change agent recognize and enhance key relationships within the system both for themselves and among client system members.

Relationships can be complicated so it's helpful for the change agent to understand the essential features that make up such a successful relationship. We recognize, however, that even if you adopt all the strategies the guide has to offer, relationships can be fragile and new efforts need time to prove themselves.

Regardless of its starting point, a good relationship continues to build as it goes along. As a change agent, your relationships with members of the client system will be strengthened by a successful collaborative effort in diagnosis and resource acquisition, and in selecting and installing the innovation. Relationships will also be heavily dependent upon the personality and the skill of you, the change agent, and upon how clearly and adequately you have defined your own role.