In this article we reflect on some latest thinking in the fields of behavioural and organisational change and find some interesting connections. We also found some links to our own deeply held beliefs and consulting practices.

Changing Habits in a Busy World

Communities, organisations, governments and others develop programme after programme, initiative upon initiative to encourage us to change our habits. Sometimes they work amazingly well, most of the time results are patchy or minimal. And yet we know the consequences of eating unhealthily or drinking too much or using our cars all the time, and still we don’t change. So logic and rational knowledge doesn’t rule our actions, and this is backed up by neurological research as 30-50% of our daily actions are automatic habits, and beyond the reach of that type of thinking.

Our brains have many small automated programmes (we call them habits) which leaves space for higher level thinking, planning and creativity. Unfortunately the brain doesn’t differentiate between good and bad habits and when life is busy sticking with what we know is seductive. Little wonder that we find it so hard to change, New Year’s resolutions stumble to mid-January and then go by the wayside.

So what can organisations do to support many people in changing their habits?

They can help us reprogramme habits, and it is not a lost cause but we do need a bit more assistance; we need people to advise us who we can empathise with, people who know our situation, issues and challenges. Then we need to be provided with the resources to make it easy and then given very specific information and instructions. Above all organisations need to find those small windows of opportunity where there is a lever for change (so get new parents interested in organic, natural baby food in the first 4 months of the baby’s life, after that it will be too late as another habit will already be ‘hard-wired’ into parent behaviour). These ‘nudges’ given at the right time will help people make better decisions (other examples are providing fruit at the office canteen checkouts rather than chocolate, or only having recycling bins available).

With complex problems, nudges are not enough. Then one needs different interventions that are aimed at the needs of the target group. Social models are very powerful. In Texas, for years there was a lot of rubbish on the highways. There were many campaigns to encourage people to stop throwing rubbish out of their cars, but nothing worked. Then when the local authority ‘spoke’ directly to the people who caused the rubbish, male Texans, and create a feeling of ‘community’ through a TV advert, it started to work. The TV spot said: “Don’t mess with Texas”, and it showed football stars from the Dallas Cowboys collecting rubbish. Soon everyone was able to buy cups, T-Shirts etc. with the logo “Don’t mess with Texas”. In another example the city of Copenhagen widened bike lanes, and reduced car lanes. Soon half of the population started taking the bike, first because it was made easier and then because it was ‘cool’.

TIPS TO CHANGE HABITS

Chose the optimal time

Use the power of optimal windows of opportunity when it is easier to change, or when it makes sense; if you want to encourage people to cycle more then start the initiative in Spring.

Avoid stress

The hormones cortisol and noradrenalin help us to think straight and act in target-oriented ways. We need them in order to break a habit. If we are stressed, the body produces less of these hormones; we ‘switch’ on the auto pilot, and go back to our old habits. Which underlines what we know from practical experience; changing when we are busy or overloaded is extremely difficult.

Don’t forget rewards

The best motivation for change is rewards. Choose extravagant rewards for big changes and small ones to keep going.

Together instead of alone

If you find like-minded people who have the same goal, it is more motivating. The last push for change usually comes from outside. We find it easier to go the Gym or cycle regularly if it has an added social element.

Applying this to an organisation

These tips and comments can also be found in Kotter’s updated thinking on how to make change ‘stick’ in today’s organisations. In an addition to his updated change framework he comments on the way organisations (unless they are start-ups) are optimised for efficiency and not strategic agility. And that is a good way to manage day to day operations but not necessarily to manage change programmes. He proposes a second ‘operating system’ working alongside the normal procedures and processes which is set up to react with greater speed, agility and creativity. The organisation can do this by relying on a network of volunteers across the organisation that actively choose to be part of the rapid response team, which might number up to 10% of the organisation. The fact that they are volunteers means that their energy and creativity is more likely to be released, bolstered by having a shared purpose with others in the network.

At the core of a successful strategic network is vision, agility, inspiration, innovation and above all leadership. Compare this with how the more traditional hierarchical structure operates at its best, project management, budgets, cost reviews, accountability to a plan, reporting lines etc, which seem to describe competent management.

To fully benefit the organisation the two operating systems must work together in a symbiotic relationship, with a constant flow of information and activity between them. This two-way flow is of course facilitated by the volunteer network who have a ‘foot’ in both operating systems, and so are ideally placed to empathise objectively. He has far more to say on how to make the two systems work in practice but the similarity between his updated change framework and the tips about changing habits struck us as interesting; together instead of alone (in Kotter’s words in a network), avoiding stress and becoming overloaded (releasing yourself from the day to day operations to be in a network for some/all of the time allows ‘headspace’ to think and create new ways to deal with threats, challenges or opportunities).

In our work with clients we often hear about the downsides of the corporate ‘hamster wheel’ where busy people cannot find the emotional or mental energy to change or adapt their behaviour, thinking, role, teamwork or departmental direction or culture. It seems to us that our own deeply held beliefs about change are coinciding with at least one of the ‘heavyweights’ in this area. We believe in ‘less is more’; trying to release people from further overload and stress in the way we work with organisations. We promote people getting help from others when changing; self-development is not a solitary occupation. We introduce systemic approaches that people in networks of the type Kotter describes will be able to understand and put into practice more easily than those in hierarchical functions. And finally, we don’t have ‘cookie cutter’ solutions up our sleeve; we often co-create them with small volunteer teams from the organisation, at the right time and with people who have the energy and commitment to get things underway. It seems like our time has come!