Five Myths About Changing Behavior

Changing people’s behavior is the most important challenge for businesses trying to compete in a turbulent world. The central issue is never strategy, structure, culture, or systems. Harvard Business School ’s John Kotter notes that “Behavior change happens mostly by speaking to people’s feelings.” This is true even in organizations that are very focused on analysis and quantitative measurement. “In highly successful change efforts, people find ways to help others see the problems or solutions in ways that influence emotions, not just thought,” he adds.

Here are 5 big myths about change:

1. Crisis is a powerful impetus for change. (This is untrue: For instance, 90% of coronary bypass patients can’t sustain changes in the unhealthy lifestyles that threaten their lives).

2. Change is motivated by fear. (Incorrect: Compelling, positive visions of the future are a much stronger inspiration for change).

3. The facts will set us free (False: Our thinking is guided by stories and our values, more than by facts; change is inspired best by emotional appeals rather than factual statements).

4. Small, gradual changes are always easier to make. (Surprisingly untrue: Actually, radical sweeping changes are often easier because they quickly yield benefits).

5. We can’t change because our brains become “hardwired” early in life. (Untrue: Our brains have extraordinary “plasticity,” meaning that we can continue learning complex new things throughout our lives -- assuming we remain truly active and engaged).

Transition can be a powerful and positively transforming experience. How we embrace it makes all the difference!

“If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the men to go to the forest to gather wood, saw it, and nail the planks together. Instead, teach them the desire for the sea.”
-- Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Resources

1. Gifted Leaders (www.giftedleaders.com)