You see what could be, and what a difference that would make. And if you could, you would change it all by yourself. Right now.

But you can’t. It’s going to take more than just you to ignite this meaningful change.

So you reach out to all those who can help, whose very roles and responsibilities may even require it. You tell them it matters. You even tell them why.

And they nod. And agree.

Now all they have to do is to act, and do what needs to be done. But they don’t.

Why not?

Because you’re missing a key part of the formula for igniting meaningful change.

It’s not just about telling them what matters to you or your organization. It’s about conveying why it matters to them too.

It’s the essential Amplify piece of the Illumify formula (Illuminate x Amplify x Unify) to ignite meaningful change.

This missing piece is the primary reason many leadership initiatives fail, which according to the research includes 87% of the most brilliant strategies. And it’s why my executive coaching clients want to strengthen their communications capability to have greater leadership influence and impact.

There’s a lot that goes into Amplify. Its essence is the ability to know and understand the interests and concerns of those on whom your ability to invoke meaningful change rests.

In old PR parlance, we called them “stakeholders”. And they’re not a homogeneous lot. They can range from employees to shareholders to community members and others. Even within one single stakeholder group, you will not find everyone uniformly aligned in their understanding, awareness or commitment to your meaningful change. And it can change from day to day, even hour to hour.

If your brain is shouting just now that you know these people and what they care about, be careful that this assumption doesn’t cost you. Transmitting words is the easy part; ensuring that your words are not only received but also acted upon is a lot more complex. If you don’t aim your words so they land precisely where those people are at now, they won’t respond in the way you need.

So if you see the opportunity for meaningful change, start by knowing that others will rarely see it in the same way you do, if they see it at all. Unless you express it in the way that makes it matter to them too, they will not think and act in alignment to help you ignite it.

Amplify.

Take care,