What’s your go-to cure for the hiccups?
Growing up, my family was convinced that the best cure was a good “scare.” I can still remember my parents (and grandparents) trying to startle me out of a case of hiccups.
I don’t know if this actually works, but I think it was fun for the grownups so it persisted.
My late friend, Marc, had what he believed was a foolproof approach to beating hiccups. It was a sort of meditative technique that involved repeating the phrase, “Breath slow, think slow.” over and over.
He was beyond confident in his technique. And for a long time, I resisted even trying it because I had my own trick–take a big drink of water, bend over at the waist, and take three small swallows. And my approach seemed to work most times.
I didn’t think his way would work. Or at least that it would work any better than my tried and true method.
But, one day when I was out with Marc, I got a case of the hiccups. It would have been awkward for me to stand up and bend over, so I finally relented and let him teach me his technique.
Despite my skepticism, I gave it a go.
And it worked.
The next time I got the hiccups, I tried it again.
And it worked.
And just like that, I had a new go-to hiccup cure.
We Stick with What Works
So, why am I talking about hiccups?
This story illustrates a couple of things I’ve found to be true about human behavior.
First, we grow attached to the way we do things. Even if there’s a better way presented to us, we tend to favor the way we’ve been doing it because it’s familiar.
We tend to resist or reject new ways of doing things without any consideration for whether a new way would get us better results. We don’t like change.
The second thing this story shows, which is a little counter-intuitive given what I just shared, is that when we happen to find a better way to do something, we usually stick with it.
It doesn’t matter how we discovered this new way of doing things. It doesn’t matter if we thought it would work. It doesn’t even matter if we know why it works.
If it works better towards helping us get something that matters to us, we’ll usually stick with it. Maybe not always, but most of the time.
Embracing these two features of human behavior is key if you are in the business of trying to help others find more effective ways of doing their jobs.
Motives Don’t Matter
Being an effective leader or manager frequently requires getting others to change their behavior.
We need people to adopt a new system or process. We need people to come into the office, even though they’ve gotten used to working at home. We need people to ask more questions and make fewer assumptions.
As I just illustrated, getting people to change the way they do things is difficult.
Early in my career, I learned this about behavior change.
Beliefs drive behaviors and behaviors drive results.
What I thought that meant is that to shift behavior, I had to change beliefs.
I started my career in sales and I’m pretty skilled at influence, so I got to work. I spent a lot of time trying to get leaders to change their beliefs.
My success rate was abysmal.
If a leader believes that people are only motivated by money, you can talk until you are blue in the face about motivational theory and share research about brain science without moving them an inch.
Their interpretation of their own experiences (or perhaps simply their personal preferences) have shaped their belief. And it’s worked for them. Or at least they think it has, and that’s what matters.
Eventually, I had an epiphany that changed everything.
I was thinking about the Belief → Behavior → Results chain in the wrong order.
What I realized is that the most important currency of leadership within organizations is results. If you can deliver results consistently, you won’t get a lot of questions about “how” you did it in most places.
Granted, this can lead to some pretty dark places when left unchecked (ask Well Fargo), but it is nonetheless true.
My epiphany was that if I could get people to do the “right” things (i.e. whatever behavior change I was after) somehow, even if they didn’t do it for the “right reasons” (i.e. their beliefs hadn’t changed), as long as the new way delivered results they cared about, they would stick with it.
And once they committed to stick with it, they would eventually shift their beliefs about the “right” way to do things.
The results reinforce the effectiveness of the behavior. This, in time, helps shift the belief.
Here’s how I came to understand my role in driving leader and manager behavior change.
I don’t need them to do the right thing for the right reason. I just need them to do the right thing. The results will prove to them over time that it is the right thing to do.
How to Change Behavior
So what does this look like in practice?
Ironically, it probably requires some changes in YOUR behavior.
1. Commit to results.
One of the most common complaints I hear from HR leaders involves getting managers to complete their performance appraisals on time. If this is a problem that you wrestle with, here’s an important and perhaps uncomfortable question for you.
Do your performance appraisals produce tangible results that the manager and the organization value?
If you are struggling to get managers to complete this process, the answer is likely NO.
How can we blame a busy manager for avoiding a time-consuming process that creates no perceivable results for them (other than getting HR off of their back)?
No wonder this is such a common problem. Instead of punishing the manager for avoiding an ineffective process, we need to accept some accountability.
If a process or behavior isn’t delivering results, it needs to be replaced with one that does.
As you approach behavior change initiatives, you need to clearly understand two things:
- What kind of results are valued by those we need to change? What results are most important to them?
- How does this new process deliver those results better than what they are doing today?
If you can’t articulate these two things, then you have likely failed before you’ve even begun.
Every behavior change initiative needs to be anchored in how it produces better results for those required to change. It is those results that will make the process sticky.
In time, the stickiness of the results will create the buy-in and shift in belief that makes the change sustainable.
2. Keep it simple.
Years ago, as my team and I were rolling out a new talent development program in our organization, we made a big assumption. We assumed that our executives were equipped to have developmental conversations with their direct reports in which they provided some significant feedback.
We were wrong. They did not.
Even though they knew what was being asked of them, not one of the execs raised their hands and asked for any guidance or tips for how to get it right. I’m not sure if that’s because they weren’t aware that they didn’t know or that their ego wouldn’t allow them to ask.
Either way, the result wasn’t great.
The consequence was a lot of chaos, defensiveness, hurt feelings and very little that actually helped with development in the short run. It was painful and took a lot of work to clean up. I’m not sure all of the damage was ever fully repaired.
I never made that mistake again. We were asking for the executives to participate in a new process and practice what we discovered was a new behavior for them. And we failed to give them what they needed to be successful.
When trying to facilitate a change, particularly with leaders, make the process as simple as possible. That might include the following:
- A simple process flow with clear and easy steps.
- Scripted language that they can read and used to prepare. [I’ve had leaders read the scripts verbatim. Not ideal, but better than the alternative.]
- Training on the process that is easily accessible to them (i.e. Bring it to their meetings, short videos, quick reference guides, etc.).
Bottom line, the more simple and straightforward you can make the process, the more likely it will be that they can realize the results.
A quick note: doing this well is not a fast process. It requires that you be thoughtful, intentional, and thorough. It also requires that you seek out feedback along the way.
Making a change feel simple is powerful, but it’s not always easy to accomplish.
3. Get them to try it.
If you have a simple process or change outlined that you are confident will deliver results, now comes the trickiest part.
You have to get them to try it.
My friend Marc had evangelized his miracle hiccup cure to me many times before circumstances finally convinced me to try it. Once I did, I was converted. Without the opportunity or circumstances prompting me to try it, nothing would have changed.
Being an agent of change requires you to be creative, flexible, and patient.
There are times when you have a situation where people are required to use your new process.
My example earlier about the development program is an example of this. The executives had signed off on this program, so they had no real choice other than to engage. Our failing was in our assumptions about their skill and not making it simple for them to get it right.
But, you usually don’t have this luxury.
In these cases, we have to find or create ways to get people to try the new way long enough to experience results. This is where the creativity, flexibility, and patience are required.
Here are a few tactics that I’ve found effective, particularly for organizational leaders.
- Pilot programs. Position the change as a trial of the new approach with a beginning and an end. Since it’s not a proposal for permanent change, it will often be met with less resistance. If your process is well-designed to deliver results, the pilot will yield the evidence you need to get further buy-in.
- Work with the willing. As my mentor, Cy Wakeman, taught me years ago, the best way to get momentum behind a better way of doing something is to find those who desire change and invest in helping them make it happen. Find those leaders who are ready for change and invite them to experiment with you. Their results will attract others.
- Wait for a catalyst. Leaders are typically most open to change when facing a crisis of some sort. The pain of the crisis creates an openness to try new things. When things are good, it’s easy to rationalize away any need for change. So, depending on the nature of the desired change, it might be a good strategy to wait for an opportunity when circumstances have primed leaders for change.
If you have found success with other approaches to getting leaders to try new processes, please share those in the comments.
It’s Time to Let Go
We want our leaders to get it.
We want our leaders to change because they’ve seen the light (or more accurately, beacuse we’ve shown them the light).
We want our leaders to do the right things for the right reasons.
This was me. In the early part of my career as an HR leader, I had such angst about these things.
Eventually, I realized that while these are noble and understandable desires, they were getting in the way of my effectiveness.
My ability to drive real change unlocked when I realized that none of this really matters.
It doesn’t matter if they get it.
It doesn’t matter if they see the light.
It doesn’t matter if they do things for the right reasons.
Some will, most won’t. It’s time to let go of this desire.
Focus on getting them to do the right things.
That’s how you’ll make change happen.
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