Getting Others on Board with Going Green: WIIFM (post 2 of 5)

In the first post in this five-part series focused on getting others on board with going green, the focus was on leading by example. This is something that is key in creating behavior change. If the leader isn’t taking the actions she/he is asking others to take, why should others take those actions?

This brings us to a second approach to use when looking to create culture change. That is, answering the question - WIIFM? WIIFM stands for ‘What’s In It For Me’, and is a question that most everyone will ask themselves when undertaking an action, whether consciously or unconsciously.

In order to help your colleagues to answer that question in relation to your sustainability project or going green action, there are several things that you can do:

1.    Set and share your sustainability or going green project goals. Whether the project is as simple as establishing and using an office supply reuse center (which is the example we used in the prior post, so we will continue with it here), or implementing a most complex supply chain review (which is something I would not recommend as a starter project!), it is important not only to have realistic goals but also to share those goals with your colleagues. In doing this, you will also want to explain how this project and reaching these goals could positively impact their day-to-day work or longer-term opportunities. This of course depends on the project.

In the case of the office supply center, you can explain to a colleague in procurement that this will reduce the number of orders that are put in for office supplies, which could free up that person’s time to do something else. For someone in finance, you can explain that this will reduce the cost of the office supply line item since less will be purchased.

2.    Acknowledge feelings. While you don’t need to be a therapist, acknowledging the fact that some people may be apprehensive about the change that this project might bring on is helpful in getting them more comfortable with the change. There may be anxiety, apprehension, even fear. While you may be looking at it as a simple going green or sustainability project, they may be looking at it as yet another thing to do, or as having to change habits that have worked for them over the years, or as something else.

That’s why it’s important not only to share your project goals but also ask them how they feel about it - and make it clear that you will not take their response personally. You might be surprised at what you learn when you have these conversations with your colleagues. This will also give you important insight into what may and may not work in future communications with these and other colleagues.

3.    Be transparent. Provide clear data on when the project will start and end, why it is being initiated, and how that fits in to the longer-term goals of the department/organization/etc… This will help your colleagues better understand how the project could impact them even without your having to explain it in detail – since not everyone will ask you for details.

If there are potential obstacles that will need to be addressed, you can also share those with the individuals who might be impacted. By getting them involved, it may help reduce the hurdles you have to overcome to implement a successful sustainability or going green project.

4.    Be clear and succinct. When you are providing information about your project and having conversations about how it could impact some of your colleagues, be direct and provide as much data as possible in bite-sized, digestible format. The information you provide should be easy to understand from your colleagues’ perspective, not from yours.

When you are crafting your message, think about how they would like to receive that information. Keep in mind that different individuals at different levels within your organization will have different concerns, so you will want to customize the messaging to address these.

In general, you will want to be prepared to answer questions about how this change could affect the person as an individual (maybe career or personal goals), how it could affect their day to day work responsibilities and others’ and how it could affect the company overall – as well as the community and planet.

P.S. If you are currently working within an organization and are looking to grow your skill set and knowledge around sustainability by starting with where you currently work, be sure to download our free Beginner’s Guide to Going Green, with 50+ low-cost and low barrier to entry projects and much more to get started with. If you are looking at becoming a consultant, this could also be helpful in providing you will additional information around potential projects and the business case for going green.

Anca Novacovici

Anca is an author, speaker and founder of Eco-Coach Inc. She is passionate about supporting individuals and organizations around going green and environmental sustainability. You can connect with her on LinkedIn.