I’m going to blame neuroplasticity (clever stuff) on this. Looking right is so entrenched I no longer consciously think about it. Some behaviours are VERY hard to change!
So what are you doing to assist behavior change in your team?
The summit was very people centric. Yes, businesses will always need to improve, they will only do this through their people. Therefore, this requires changing behaviours (doing something new). As a leader we must assist.
Let me provide a few of my key takeaways with assisting behaviour change. As you read them, I ask that you deliberately pause and think.
Be on the lookout for people “Leaning In” – Dr Lou Flaspohler mentioned this during conversations and presentations. The thinking is look for when your people (or family physically lean forward / in) as this is an indicator of engagement. If you want to build trust with your people and obtain their opinions and feelings, encourage them to talk about what is important to them, don’t interrupt, don’t do all the talking yourself and LISTEN. Am I doing this well now, could I do this better? If I did this better, would it assist with behavioral change?
Identify how team members and leaders contribute to the work – Cheryl Jekiel showed a slide which depicted different levels of an organisation and their ‘roles’ in working toward a common cause. People play different roles, therefore clearly define them and set expectations. Am I doing this well now, could I do this better? If I did this better, would it assist with behavioral change?
Motivational Interviewing – William Harvey blew my mind when he introduced this term. This is guiding change through conversation. Lasting change comes from within so how can we better use this? By asking open-ended questions, affirmations, reflections and summaries. Am I doing this well now, could I do this better? If I did this better, would it assist with behavioral change?
Work with people to accept the change – Oscar Roche (utilizing his Job Relations pocket card) reminded us that the leader’s primary role (our role) is to ‘work with people to accept the change’. Carefully emphasizing the three words ‘work with people …’. This largely means listening, understanding and explaining all of which takes time and patience. Am I doing this well now, could I do this better? If I did this better would it assist with behavioural change?
Other- I got gems from all the presenters but can’t mention them all.
The above snippets can assist with behaviour change and I recognize I can get better. Getting better doesn’t mean I ‘just practice’! Returning to my introductory paragraph, it means I must deliberately practice to ‘rewire’ my brain to start to think (and therefore act) this way unconsciously.
I’ve learned lots, my head hurts, I’m planning my deliberate practice.