Here’s How to Get Your People Ready for Change

Mindset Shift —The Future of Organizations

Leaders can change the mindsets of their people by understanding groundbreaking discoveries in brain science and the psychology of human behavior that describes why people think and act as they do.

Over the past years, models to drive organizational change have become more and more popular. Yet they’re notably tough to carry out. People’s resistance to change is one of the top factors for why so many change transformations fail. Leaders cannot change people’s behaviors simply by dictating what they think should happen. But, why is change so hard for us??As humans, we naturally prefer stability and constancy. Indeed, resistance to change manifests because for most of the human history change was a risky threat associated with war, epidemics, and other catastrophes. Because our brains are wired to believe that most change is risky, we'll naturally only shift to a more neutral or positive view when we have the necessary information, stories, and experience to help us frame it differently. People will accept a change only if they can be persuaded to think differently about what they do. Yes, we resist change, but once we’re open to the concept of change, we’ll embrace it.

Change starts inward, then moves outward. Leading change successfully depends on persuading hundreds or thousands of people and individuals to change the way they work. So, leaders need to look beyond what seems like resistance to change and understand what people need and treasure. This will enable them to address this challenge with more insight and respect. They'll need the right?persuasion?style that allows them to?sell?their ideas and inspire?people?to follow their vision and earn their sincere?buy-in. In truth, leaders must shift the mindsets of their people—it is no secret that it is a tough task.

Leaders can make things easier for themselves if, before planning and executing any organizational change process, they determine the extent of the change required to achieve the results they want. First and foremost, they can choose among three levels of organizational change. On the most straightforward level, developmental changes are those that organizations make to improve and optimize current business processes, strategies, and procedures. Here, organizations act directly to achieve results, without having to change the way people work; some examples of developmental change would be an organization that chooses to refocus its marketing strategies and advertising processes to attract and retain customers, divesting non-core assets to concentrate on the core business or updating payroll procedures.

On the second level of complexity, the transitional level, change can move an organization away from its current state to a new state in order to solve a problem, say, for example, experiencing corporate restructures, mergers or acquisitions, implementing new technology, or automation. At this level, people may need to adjust their old ways or adopt new ones that are consistent with their current mindsets to achieve, for example, a new bottom-line target. A lean business might, for instance, encourage its employees to look for new methods to reduce waste.?Another example would be an innovative company that builds long-term relationships with universities and academic institutions to create new products or services.

But what if the only way for a business to make sense of change and achieve its change management goals is to change inclusively the way its people think? Let’s say it can become more competitive only by changing its culture—from reactive to proactive, strictly hierarchical to adhocratic, fixed to growth, inward to outward, for instance. Since an organizational collectivist culture, notably, is an aggregated representation of what is common to all of its cohesive group and individual mindsets, such a change calls for changing the minds of people. This is the last and the most profound level: transformational or cultural change.

There is a large body of literature from several?disciplines such as psychology, behavioral science, and neuroscience about change management. Understanding recent studies?in brain-based research?and?psychology can assist leaders in implementing organizational?change successfully. New advancements in psychological research offer?evidence-based insights on what makes change succeed and how to make people more open to change. Yet, these insights have been applied to business only in an unsystematic way and haven’t had an omnipresent effect. Today, however, many change leaders have found that incorporating these ideas has brought about tremendous shifts in the attitude of employees—changes so deeply rooted in adopting new mindsets.

How Leaders Can Create the Right Conditions for Shifting Mindsets?

As a leader, you’ve to create the right conditions for people to embrace change and alter their mindset. But before people can behave differently, they must think differently. People would shift their mindsets if they only just cottoned on to the change and agree with it—at least when they understand the need for change and become comfortable enough to give it a shot. The current systems such as recognition & reward must be set up to support and be in harmony with the new mindset. People must possess the skills to do what it requires. And finally, they must see other people they respect modeling change actively. Each of these conditions can be realized separately; but, combined they add up to create conditions that are conducive to change by changing people’s attitudes about what can and should happen.

So, how, exactly, can change leaders, better help your people to make the mindset shift that will allow them to embrace change?— to become more change-capable? Here are four strategies.

1??Clarify Your Purpose

?To inspire start with the clarity of WHY.?— Simon Sinek

Change is often ambiguous, unpredictable, strenuous, and risky. But having a clear purpose behind the change will communicate your vision and support your case. To help your people see not only what needs to change, but why it needs to change,?you must have the vision to communicate what lies ahead and help others understand what is considered pertinent to change in order to shape people’s beliefs about the change. If you can clearly communicate this purpose, people will gain a better understanding of why the change is happening. More important, if you can focus on aligning your people on purpose and getting them to agree, you have won the first and foremost battle in a change journey.

2??Change the Recognition & Reward System

?People work for money but go the extra mile for recognition, praise, and rewards.?— Dale Carnegie

Psychologist B.F. Skinner?is best known for his operant conditioning theory. It is based on the idea that learning is the result of a relatively permanent change in overt behavior. According to his theory, “The behavior of an individual is influenced by the consequences. It is the form of conditioning that explains the relationship between behavior and its consequences or rewards (Reinforcements and Punishments)” i.e., changes in behavior are the result of an individual's response to events or “stimuli” that happen in the environment.

During his experiments with rats in the late 1920s, Skinner found that he could motivate a rat to complete the boring task of navigating a maze by providing the right incentive—corn at the maze’s center—and by punishing the rat with an electric shock each time it took a wrong turn.

B.F. Skinner identified two central terms that influence operant conditioning:

1. Reinforcement: can be (Positive or Negative): A pleasant stimulus is added to increase the rate of behavior.
2. Punishments:?can be (Positive or Negative): A pleasant stimulus is removed to decrease a behavior.?

Reward and recognition systems?represent a powerful motivational force in?organizations, but this is valid only when the?system?is fair and tied to?performance. Organizational leaders state that reporting systems, evaluation methods, goal setting, performance monitoring, and financial and non-financial incentives and rewards—must be consistent with the behavior that people are expected to enact. Moreover, by rewarding and promoting people who embrace the company’s new values, organizations can make sure that changes in culture have a long-lasting effect. So, leaders have to consider the prize and the price of change. Because when the desired outcomes for new behaviors are not reinforced, individuals are less likely to consistently adopt them. For example, if managers are incentivized to spend more time coaching new employees, but coaching does not show up on their performance reviews, they are highly unlikely to bother.

3??Build Capabilities: Upskilling & Reskilling

?Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.?– Benjamin Franklin

Life-long learning for all is becoming a reality. According to the World Economic Forum Future of Jobs Report, by 2025, 50% of all employees will need reskilling due to adopting new technologies. Five years from now, over two-thirds of skills considered important in today’s job requirements will change.?Upskilling will be one of the most important ways for organizations to empower their employees with the skills and competencies they need to be future-proof.

The most common mistake that derails change management efforts is to jump into it before setting a clear path and offering support and guidance. When?making the journey toward a new destination — good directions are critical. Sadly, many leaders make the blunder of urging people to change their behavior without trying to inform them how to adapt the new behavior to their individual scenarios. An organization may advise its employees to be "customer-centric" but if it hasn’t so far paid attention to its customers in the past, employees won't understand how to apply this new concept or what the desired outcome would look like.

So, how can people be best equipped with the necessary skills they need to make meaningful changes in behavior?

First, give them enough time!

David Kolb, an American psychologist,?and a learning specialist developed the Experiential Learning Theory in the 1980s. He presented a cyclical model of learning that consists of four stages of learning: experiencing, reflecting, thinking, and acting. In his model, Kolb emphasized the importance of experience, which he placed as the first entry point in his model; however, he asserted that people could enter the learning model at any of the four phases.

“ Learning is the process whereby knowledge is created through the transformation of experience.”– David Kolb

According to David Kolb, learning happens through experience, and knowledge is the transformation of experience. It is an individual process that varies by preference, which in turn is acquired through making connections with past experience. People cannot learn simply by following instructions; this means that you cannot teach them just about everything they need to know about a subject in a single session. It is thus far highly recommended to divide training into chunks, with time in between for people to accurately reflect, experiment, and apply the new concepts. Big changes take place only in stages!

Second, Chris Argyris, a behavioral scientist developed the concept of?single- and double-loop learning. The two types of learning -?single-loop?and?double-loop?- refer to the way people respond to changes in their environment.?In double-loop learning, the framing system (mindset) that underlies an individual’s actions can be changed through inquiry and questioning. In single-loop learning, goals, values, frameworks, and mindsets are taken for granted and learning occurs within the system.

Argyris explained his theory accordingly:

?Learning can be defined as occurring under two conditions. First, learning occurs when an organization achieves what it intended; that is, there is a match between its design for action and the actual outcome. Second, learning occurs when a mismatch between intention and outcome is identified and corrected; that is, a mismatch is turned into a match...Single-loop learning occurs when matches are created, or when mismatches are corrected by changing actions. Double-loop learning occurs when mismatches are corrected by first examining and altering the governing variables and then the actions.?        

People assimilate information more deeply when they can describe to others how they will apply what they have learned to their own unique situations. The reason for this is that people use different parts of their brains for learning and understanding. People need to reflect, act intentionally, and then reflect on the results. When the results are unexpected, double-loop learning helps people to question the assumptions that they held about the situation.

Argyris' work outlines profound and practical solutions to leadership thinking on the essential principles of organizational learning behavior and human interaction in the workplace. His contributions show us how hard we'll have to work, and how much we'll have to change if we want to reach our full potential.

In any workplace, people are overloaded with day-to-day responsibilities. Don’t bombard them with change, too. Make sure they have the right skills and tools required to deal with the change.

4?? Lead By Example

? Example is not the main thing in influencing others; it is the only thing. ? —?Albert Schweitzer.

Research has shown that role modeling happens both at unconscious and conscious levels. Most clinical studies back up the notion that consistent role models are significant for the development of children and are important in shifting adults' behavior and attitudes as well.

Social learning theory, proposed by Albert Bandura, presents a broad theory of human motivation and action from a social-cognitive perspective.?It highlights the importance of observing, modeling, and imitating behaviors, attitudes, and emotional reactions of others. Social learning theory considers how both environmental and cognitive factors interact to influence human attitude and behavior.

Within any organization, people at various levels choose different role models. They often model their behavior after "significant others": those in leadership roles. In this sense, people must see people they treasure and respect modeling change actively. However, to consistently change behavior throughout an organization, it is not enough to ensure that people at the top are on board with the new ways of working; role models at all levels must "walk the talk!"

Of course, leaders must model the behavior they want to see in others and help their employees in identifying what they want from change leadership. When leaders lead by example, people usually pick up on it, and they’ll develop an unshakable belief in the change. Surely, this can help boost people’s morale and make work a place that people enjoy.

It is no secret that it’s not easy nor straightforward to change the attitude of people by changing their mindsets. Sometimes small or incremental moves will be enough; sometimes you’ve to introduce new ways without completely rethinking your organizational culture. But if the only way for your organization to achieve a snowballing effect of the change is to shift the way your people think and act, you’ll need to create the right conditions for people to think differently about change. Unless you lead by example, people will always resist change.

People empowerment is a key factor in driving successful and sustainable change in any organization. So, the next time you’re approaching a change project, be sure to empower, engage, and inform your people to drive successful transitions.?When people feel that they’re fully empowered, they’ll see themselves as owners of change rather than victims of it. In doing so, you can create a strategic roadmap for a future-ready organization.

References

Bandura, A. (1986).?Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Prentice-Hall, Inc.

McLeod, S. (2018). BF Skinner - Operant Conditioning. Simplypsychology.org. https://www.simplypsychology.org/operant-conditioning.html

The Future of Jobs Report 2020. (2020). World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/reports/the-future-of-jobs-report-2020/in-full/infographics-e4e69e4de7

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