Change Team Roles
Role 4: resource linker
Connects groups and people together and finds ways to access inside and outside resources.
the change agent as resource linker
Effective problem solving requires the bringing together of needs and resources. “Resources” can be of many kinds: financial backing, knowledge of solutions, knowledge/skill in diagnosing problems, formulating or adapting solutions, or even expertise on the process of change itself. Resources may also just be of people, people who have the time, the energy, and the motivation to help. A usually underrated change role is that of the “resource linker” - the person who connects one group to another, who brings people together, and who helps clients find, recognize, and make the best use of resources inside and outside their own system.
Being an Effective Resource Linker
A large part of successful change is exchange. Each of us has needs and problems and each of us also has knowledge resources that can be useful to both ourselves and others in solving problems. Yet most of us have difficulty in asking for help and in giving help. This is why persons with special skills in communicating and relationship building are important change agents. The Resource Linker has these skills as well as “match-making” abilities to match “need” with available “help.”
The Resource Linker as a Special Role
Because human resource linkages are difficult to build, there is a special need for the “linker,” someone who knows about resources, knows about people’s needs, and knows how to bring clients and resources together. The primary mission of the linker is to eliminate their own job by helping clients to become effective resource linkers for themselves. Resource linkers should also be able to show clients the resources they have within themselves and among their own group.
Filling the RESOURCE LINKER Role on the Change Team
Here are questions to ask as you consider how to fill the Resource Linker role on the change team:
- Can you identify and then recruit to your team the most experienced insiders?
- Can you identify people/places/orgs who have tried to make the same or similar changes? (Successfully or not.)
- Is there an insider who is well-connected to relevant sources and/or to the history of the system you are trying to help?
- Can you recruit a helper or helpers who are familiar with the types of problems related to your client’s problem?
- Are there potential advisors familiar with the types of innovations being considered?
If you are filling the Resource Linker role, thinking as a “linker” rather than as a “doer” also helps you avoid the “super person” trap. It is nice to have the skills to do everything on your own, but it is nearly impossible for one person to possess the full range of skills that go into a successful change effort.
Change Team Roles
explore more roles
The Change Agent's Guide identifies 7 role types, each loosely associated with a stage in the change cycle.
Get the Book
The Change Agent's Guide is available in Hardcover, Paperback and Kindle eBook editions. Designed with full color illustrations in all editions, plus color tabs and a full index in the print edition, the guide is an easy to reference companion for your change journey.
READ SAMPLE CHAPTERS
Download a PDF that includes the table of contents and the first two chapters of the book.