Tips For HR Leaders Seeking To Influence Organizational Change.

Have you ever brought a brilliant idea to leadership, only to hear, "That's not a priority right now," or "We don't have the budget"? It can be frustrating, especially when you know the change is critical for your team or the business. This is a common challenge, but it doesn't have to be the end of the road.

A recent webinar hosted by Christina Martinez de Andino, CEO of CMD Consulting, and Dorian Cunion, an executive coach and consultant at Your Path Coaching and Consulting, offered practical strategies for HR and business leaders to influence change and secure buy-in. Here's a look at the key takeaways from their discussion.

Shift Your Mindset: From HR Leader to Strategic Partner

The first step to influencing change is to change how you are perceived. Traditionally, HR is often seen as a service or operations function—handling payroll and benefits. But to drive meaningful change, you need to be viewed as a strategic business partner.

What does this mean? It means understanding the company's goals and challenges and linking your initiatives directly to business outcomes. It's about speaking the language of operations, finance, and strategy, and bringing practical solutions to the table, not just problems.

A successful example shared in the webinar involved a Fortune 500 bank where a fragmented talent development process was causing frustration for managers and employees. By acting as a strategic partner, a consultant was able to help the HR leadership team:

• Gather data: They conducted research and focus groups to understand the business's specific needs.

• Co-create solutions: Instead of dictating a new process, they collaborated with representatives from various departments to design a unified framework.

• Build momentum: They piloted the new solution in a few business lines to gain early wins and prove the concept before rolling it out company-wide.

The result? A unified, company-wide framework that improved employee trust and confidence, while also increasing HR's credibility.

Become the Expert and Build Your Business Case

To be an effective influencer, you must first be seen as an expert. This means not only mastering your own domain—like knowing HR laws and best practices—but also deeply understanding the business.

Dorian Cunion, drawing on his experience as a business owner and former Retail Executive, highlighted the importance of understanding how profits are generated within your organization. When you can connect your initiatives to profitability and business goals, leaders with P&L responsibility are more likely to listen.

Once you have established your expertise, you can build a compelling business case. This isn't just a proposal; it's a tool to help decision-makers understand the real problem, weigh the risks of inaction, and see a clear path forward. A strong business case should include:

• Executive Summary: A quick, 30-second overview of the problem and why it matters.

• Problem Statement: A clear articulation of what's happening and how it aligns with company goals.

• Options & Recommendations: Presenting viable solutions with pros and cons, along with your recommended path and a rationale for why it's the best choice.

• Cost vs. Impact: A direct comparison of the investment needed versus the risks of doing nothing.

Map Your Stakeholders and Build a Coalition

Even the best business case can fall flat without a strong strategy for gaining support. You need to identify your stakeholders—the key players, decision-makers, and influencers—and understand their motivations.

The speakers shared several tools for this, including a power-interest grid to categorize stakeholders by their level of influence and interest. You can also use "warm, lukewarm, or cold" ratings to gauge their support and tailor your approach.

The goal is to build a coalition of internal champions who will reinforce your message. This can include finding an executive sponsor or a key influencer who trusts you and can advocate for your idea among their peers. Starting with one-on-one conversations over coffee before a big meeting is a simple, effective way to get early feedback and build buy-in.

Use the Right Tools and Resources

Finally, your communication strategy is crucial. Think of influencing change like a marketing campaign. You need to nurture relationships, educate your audience, and then make a compelling case. Consider the following:

• Diverse tools: Use a variety of tools, like presentations, one-pagers, or videos, to appeal to different communication styles.

• Hard facts and data: Support your case with data, research on what peers are doing, and insights from industry publications.

• Leverage other stakeholders: Gather feedback from customers, vendors, or even competitors to build a more robust case.

By adopting these strategies, you can position yourself as a powerful catalyst for change within your organization.

Want to learn more? The full video covers these topics in much greater detail, including practical examples, templates, and Q&A from the live audience. Watch the full webinar on YouTube to dive deeper into how you can become a more effective influencer and strategic partner.

Maximizing Self-Awareness with Personal Trackers for ADHD Management

The Power of Tracking for Self-Awareness

Keeping track of specific behaviors, symptoms, or productivity metrics can be incredibly insightful for individuals with ADHD. Due to challenges with working memory and sometimes inconsistent self-awareness, it can be difficult to recall patterns or progress over time accurately. Tracking provides objective data, transforming vague feelings ("I feel unfocused lately") into concrete information ("My focus ratings were lower on days I slept poorly").

This increased self-awareness is fundamental for effective ADHD management. Tracking helps identify patterns related to symptoms, triggers, and productivity cycles; offers visible proof of progress, which boosts motivation; and provides valuable data to share with healthcare professionals or coaches. Essentially, personalized tracking serves as a form of meta-cognitive support, helping individuals observe their own functioning and make data-informed adjustments to their strategies.

What Can You Track To Manage Your ADHD Better?

The possibilities are broad and should be tailored to individual goals and challenges:

• Habits: Consistency with daily routines (morning/evening rituals), medication adherence, exercise frequency, water intake, sleep duration, and quality.

• Symptoms: Subjective ratings of focus levels, energy, impulsivity, emotional regulation, or the frequency/intensity of specific ADHD-related challenges throughout the day or week.

• Productivity: Number of tasks completed, Pomodoro sessions finished, time spent on specific projects, and meeting deadlines.

• Mood & Well-being: Daily mood ratings, energy levels, feelings of stress or overwhelm, identifying potential correlations with activities or events.

• Goal Progress: Monitoring steps taken towards specific personal, academic, or professional goals.

Choosing the Right Tracking Method

The "best" tracker is the one that an individual finds easy to use and can maintain consistently. Simplicity often trumps complexity. Options include:

• Dedicated Apps: Numerous apps are designed for tracking habits, tasks, mood, and more. Many offer ADHD-friendly features, such as visual progress charts, reminders, customizable interfaces, and gamification. Examples mentioned in research include

  • Notion templates

  • ClickUp templates

  • Focus To-Do

  • Timelog

  • Harvest

  • RoutineFlow

  • Finch

  • Monday

  • Habitica

• Look for features like clear design, visual organization, flexibility, and built-in reminders. Gamification elements can be particularly helpful for maintaining engagement by tapping into the ADHD brain's need for novelty and immediate feedback.

• Journals/Planners: A simple notebook, a bullet journal, or a planner with dedicated tracking sections can be highly effective and customizable. The physical act of writing can also aid reflection.

• Spreadsheets: Digital spreadsheets (like Google Sheets or Excel) allow for detailed data logging, customization, and potential analysis or charting.

• Whiteboards/Physical Charts: Placing a simple chart or whiteboard in a visible location can serve as a constant reminder and make tracking very straightforward, especially for 1-2 key habits.

Tips for Effective Tracking

• Start Simple: Avoid the temptation to track everything at once. Choose 1-3 key metrics that align with current goals. Overcomplicating the system makes it harder to maintain.

• Make it Easy: Integrate tracking into existing routines (e.g., track sleep upon waking, track tasks at the end of the workday). Choose a method with minimal friction.

• Be Consistent: Aim for daily tracking or tracking at the planned frequency. Set reminders if necessary. Consistency provides the most valuable data.

• Review Regularly: Schedule time (e.g., weekly) to look at the tracked data. What patterns emerge? What correlations are noticeable? Use these observations to adjust strategies.

• Adopt a Non-Judgmental Stance: The purpose of tracking is awareness and learning, not self-criticism. Focus on trends and understanding, rather than striving for perfect scores or streaks. If consistency slips, simply restart without shame.

• Consider Gamification: If using apps, explore those with built-in game-like elements (points, levels, rewards). Alternatively, create a simple personal reward for maintaining tracking consistency for a certain period.

Individuals with ADHD tend to enjoy novelty. You should not be surprised if using one of these tactics works in the short term, but loses its effectiveness over time. That is natural. Use a method as long as it is working, and then switch things up by trying something new. Commit to practicing more self-awareness, rather than over-obsessing about the tool that you use. The goal is to manage your ADHD more effectively, not to become an expert in any specific time-management or tracking tool.

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If ADHD is hindering your productivity, working with an executive coach can help you develop the habits, routines, and skills necessary to focus and follow through more consistently. If you are interested in learning more, schedule a discovery call. We can discuss how we can help you better manage your ADHD.

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ADHD Tip 4: Make Your Calendar Your Ally

The Challenge of Time Perception and Planning

Difficulties with time management are a hallmark challenge for many with ADHD. This can manifest as "time blindness" – an inability to accurately sense the passage of time or estimate how long tasks will take. Remembering appointments, deadlines, and multi-step plans can also be difficult due to working memory challenges. The common ADHD tendency towards "now or not now" thinking can make it hard to prioritize future tasks or prepare adequately for upcoming events. Relying on internal memory alone is often insufficient and stressful.

Why Calendars Are Essential Tools for Individuals with ADHD

Using a calendar consistently is crucial because it externalizes the abstract concepts of time and future commitments. It serves as an external memory aid, a planning tool, and a way to make time visible and tangible. Effective calendaring for ADHD isn't just about recording appointments; it's about actively externalizing time perception and future planning, translating abstract time into concrete visual representations and actionable steps.

Choosing Your Calendar Tool: Paper vs. Digital

There's no single "best" calendar format for everyone with ADHD. The ideal choice depends on individual needs, preferences, and the challenges that require the most support. Often, a hybrid approach combining the strengths of both paper and digital systems offers the most comprehensive support.

Feature	Paper Calendar Pros	Paper Calendar Cons	Digital Calendar Pros	Digital Calendar Cons
Visibility	Can be kept in constant sight (on a desk or wall); ideal for visual reminders.	Less portable; requires dedicated space.	Accessible anywhere via phone/ computer.	Can be "out of sight, out of mind" if app isn't open.
Portability	Less portable, especially larger planners.	Can be bulky.	Highly portable via smartphone/ tablet.	Requires a charged device.
Reminders/ Alerts	Relies on the user remembering to check it.	No automatic alerts.	Excellent for setting multiple pop-up/audio reminders (crucial for ADHD memory).	Potential for excessive notifications (requires management).
Ease of Editing	Can be messy with changes; requires rewriting.	Changes can look cluttered.	Very easy to reschedule, edit details, and change colors.	Less tangible sense of commitment sometimes.
Tangibility	Physical act of writing can aid memory/ engagement. Provides tangible record.	Can be lost or damaged.	Less tactile interaction.	Data loss possible if not backed up.
Big Picture Planning	Excellent for monthly/yearly "bird's-eye view"; helps make the future concrete.	Can be harder to see daily details on large views.	Can switch views, but small screens limit overview.	May feel less concrete for long-term planning.
Syncing	Manual process to coordinate with other calendars.	Requires manual updating.	Easily syncs across devices and platforms (work/home).	Requires internet connectivity for syncing.
Recurring Events	Requires manual entry for each occurrence.	Tedious for frequent recurring events.	Can automate recurring events indefinitely.	Easy to set up.

Effective Calendaring Strategies for ADHD

Regardless of the format chosen, how the calendar is used is paramount. Consistency is key.

• Schedule Everything: Go beyond appointments. Block out time for specific tasks (taken from the to-do list), travel time to and from events, preparation or transition time before meetings, breaks, meals, exercise, and even dedicated planning sessions. Use it as a "brain dump" space for future ideas if needed. Integrating to-do list items directly into time slots increases the likelihood of completion.

• Use Color-Coding: Visually differentiate types of activities (e.g., work = blue, personal = green, appointments = red, tasks = orange). This allows for quick scanning and understanding of the day's or week's structure.

• Set Multiple Reminders: Don't rely on a single alert. For important events or transitions, set several reminders (e.g., 1 day before, 1 hour before, 15 minutes before, time to leave). Use phone alarms liberally, including "pre-timers" to signal that the end of an activity is approaching.

• Include Generous Buffer Time: Always schedule extra time around appointments for travel, parking, finding the location, and transitioning mentally. When scheduling tasks, overestimate the time needed, especially initially (e.g., multiply initial estimate by 1.5 or 2).

• Conduct Regular Reviews: Make checking the calendar a routine. Look at it each morning to understand the day ahead, check in midday to stay on track, and review it each evening to see what was accomplished and plan for the next day. A weekly review session is also helpful for longer-term planning.

• Maximize Visibility: Keep paper calendars prominently displayed where they will be seen often. Use widgets to keep digital calendars visible on your phone's home screen or computer desktop.

• Be Realistic (Time Blocking): Use the calendar to visualize the actual amount of time available. Blocking out chunks of time for tasks helps prevent over-scheduling and provides a realistic picture of capacity.

• Complement with Analog Clocks: Having analog clocks visible in key locations (office, kitchen, bedroom) reinforces the visual passage of time throughout the day, supporting the time awareness function of the calendar.

Calendar Resources:

• ADDitude - Time Management Skills (incl. Calendars for Kids/Adults): https://www.additudemag.com/time-management-skills-organization-help-adhd/

• ADDitude - Time Management Apps & Hacks (Calendar/List Methods): https://www.additudemag.com/punctuality-time-blindness-adhd-apps-tips/

• ADDitude - Strategies for Seeing and Feeling Time: https://www.additudemag.com/time-management-skills-adhd-brain/

• CHADD - Choosing and Using Day Planners (Paper vs. Digital): https://chadd.org/for-adults/time-management-planner/

• CHADD - Why Paper Calendars Support Future Thinking: https://chadd.org/adhd-news/adhd-news-caregivers/support-your-future-thinking-skills/

• ClickUp - Calendar Planner Template: https://clickup.com/blog/adhd-templates/

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If ADHD is hindering your productivity, working with an executive coach could help you build the habits, routines, and skills you need to focus and follow through more consistently. If you are interested in learning more, schedule a discovery call. We can discuss how we can help you better manage your ADHD.

Schedule a Free Discovery call