On the 11th of February we had an L&D Mastermind natter in Clubhouse on this months theme of ‘Behaviour Change.’ Can we in L&D affect lasting change? That is the million dollar question!
We started with a discussion about what behaviour change actually means. Here is the dictionary definition from the Psychology dictionary:
“Any modification in behaviour. It may happen spontaneously or involuntarily or may be systematic and motivated as prompted by conditioning.”
Rob Moors described it as:
“A cultural phenomenon driven by the creation and role modelling of vision and values”
We all agreed, in our natter, that it is not something that happens by sitting through a presentation on PowerPoint! So traditional, didactic training, is not the vehicle which is going to affect the change we want to see.
When you think about it, what you are asking people to do is change their habits and sometimes non-conscious processes. These processes may be ingrained and tied to their own beliefs and values. In order for them to start to shift in their behaviour, they need to feel safe enough and dare to be different. Once the shift starts they need to be encouraged to keep making those habit forming changes that lead to lasting behaviour change.
We spoke briefly about the ‘compliance trap’, where training needs to be done and recognise that rules very rarely cause lasting behaviour change. What really impacts behaviour change is a shift in mindset and this is rarely achieved in one simple step.
These are the key things which impact behaviour change:
- Leaders who walk the talk, not just talk the talk. If colleagues are told to change behaviour and do not see their leaders emulating those behaviours, it becomes quite a de-motivator.
- Line managers and leaders need to listen to colleagues about concerns, difficulties and stumbling blocks to change. With the best will in the world if people do not have the right resources, change does not stick.
- The psychological safety and support of colleague’s through the change will, enable them to form new habits which will be adopted long term.
- Outcomes that satisfy all parties need to be negotiated. They do not need to be joint goals, so this is where some give and take will really have an impact.
- Communication needs to be clear and focussed. Mixed messages will serve to demotivate colleagues.
If you would like to join us for an informal chat in Clubhouse next month about our L&D Mastermind theme of ‘Best Practice in Learning” then use this link to join.
