Chapter 1 Individual change
A key point for managers of change is to understand the distinction between the changes being managed in
the external world and the concurrent psychological transitions that are experienced internally by people.
There are four approaches to change.
o Behavioural Changing behaviours
o Cognitive Achieving results
o Psychodynamic The inner world of change
o Humanistic psychology Maximizing potential
Learning and the process of change
Buchanan and Huczynsky (2010) define learning as the process of acquiring knowledge through experience
which leads to a lasting change in behaviour. The Gestalt psychologists suggested that people have a
worldview that entails some things being in the foreground and others being in the background of their
consciousness. Assuming that I am an experienced driver, many of the aspects of driving are unconscious for
me. I hopefully carry them out competently, so I can drive for many miles, safe in the knowledge that a lot of
the activities are unconsciously done. “unconsciously competent”
However, as soon as I am in the new situation of an unfamiliar car I
realize that many of the things I took for granted I cannot now do as
well as before. I have become conscious of my incompetence.
“Unconscious incompetence” is when you do not know what you do not
know, and the only way of realizing is by making a mistake and
reflecting upon it, or when someone kind enough and brave enough
tells you. From self-reflection or from others’ feedback in your
unconscious incompetence becomes conscious, and you are able to
begin the cycle of learning.
Kolb’s learning cycle
Kolb (1984) developed a model of experiential learning, which unpacked
how learning occurs, and what stages a typical individual goes through
in order to learn. It shows that we learn through a process of doing and
thinking. An individual does something, reflects upon his or her
experience, makes some sense of the experience by drawing some
general conclusions, and plans to do things differently in the future.
Kolb also suggested that different individuals have different sets of
preferences or styles in the way they learn. Not only do we all have a
learning preference but we can also get stuck within our preference.
The reflector May spend inordinate amounts of time conducting performance reviews, but not
necessarily embedding any learning into the next experience
The theorist May spend a lot of time making connections and seeing the bigger picture by putting the
situation in a wider context, but they may not actually get around to doing anything
The May be so intent on ensuring that it is relevant to their job that they can easily dismiss
pragmatist something that does at first appear that useful
The activist May go from one activity to the next, not thinking how the last one went or planning what
they would do differently
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New perspectives on learning
To support Dependent-Conformers to move from Diplomats to Experts, help them:
Find out about the perspective of others, they are different and varied
Experiment in small ways with different ways of doing things
Imagine what others might want or feel, and what might help them
Understand that any behavioural difficulties are likely to be developmental rather than personality
problems
Tune in to their own emotions, noticing impulsive explosions or withdrawals
To support Dependent-Conformers to move towards being independent-Achievers, help them:
Authoring a plan or way forward, without simply adopting another’s framework or standards
Questioning authorities and accepted wisdoms, assumed or real
Staying alert to self-generated stress caused by striving to meet imagined/perfectionist standards
Getting interested in why things are the way they are; why people say the things they do
Understanding every encounter and interaction holds new perspectives; staying open
To support the move from Independent-Achiever to Interdependent-Collaborator, help them:
Asking for and welcoming all personal feedback rather than needing to make it fit with an existing
self-image
Experimenting with sharing decision making and/or considering different solutions that deliver
different levels of satisfaction for the various parties involved
Starting to track change at multiple levels with multiple angles – personal, team, departmental …
Becoming more aware of one’s own reactions to others, including unearthing appreciations and
inquiring into irritations
Practicing ‘immediacy’: checking in on one’s mental, emotional and physical state
The move within Interdependent-Collaborator from Strategist to Alchemist is a more mysterious, less
charted process, however, examples of developmental ‘signs’ are:
Developing great humility, and owning foibles and darker sides
Stepping back and comparing integrating systems in a fluid, non-attached way
Realizing the futility of map-mapping and striving for higher states
Recognizing the ‘central functioning’ role of the ego and seeing through own attempts at meaning-
making
Surrendering to ambiguity, seeing it as a generator of creativity
The behavioural approach to change
Focuses on how one individual can change another individual’s behaviour using reward and punishment to
achieve intended results.
Pavlov: classical conditioning with dog and food. Unconditioned stimulus leads to an unconditioned
response. If neutral stimulus and unconditional stimulus are associated, neutral stimulus (now a conditioned
stimulus) leads to unconditioned response (now conditioned response).
Actions Positive Negative
Addition Positive reinforcement Negative addition
Desired behaviour is deliberately associated A punishment is deliberately associated with
with a reward, so that the behaviour is undesired behaviour, reducing the frequency
displayed more frequently of undesired behaviour
Subtraction Positive subtraction Negative subtraction
Unpleasant stimulus previously associated Pleasant stimulus previously associated with
with the behaviour is removed, increasing undesired behaviour is removed, decreasing
the desired behaviour the undesired behaviour
In any project of planned behaviour change a number of steps will be required
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Step 1 The identification of behaviour that impacts performance
Step 2 The measurement of those behaviours, how much are they in use?
Step 3 A functional analysis of the behaviours – the identification of components that make up the
behaviour
Step 4 The generation of a strategy of intervention – what rewards and punishments should be linked to
the behaviours that impact performance
Step 5 An evaluation of the effectiveness of the intervention strategy
Reinforcement strategies
o Financial reinforcement
Bonus payments, prizes and other tangible rewards; clearly, closely and visibly linked to the behaviours
and performance that the organization requires.
o Non-financial reinforcement
o Feedback
The more specific the feedback is, the more impactful the reinforcement can be. Can be both
positive and negative.
o Social reinforcement
Interpersonal actions; communications of either a positive or negative nature: praise,
compliments, general recognition, attention, ‘naming and shaming’.
Can be extremely useful when organizational culture change is underway.
Motivation and behaviour
McGregor (1960) on theory X and Y:
Theory X Theory Y
People dislike work People regard work as natural and normal
They need controlling and direction They respond to more than just control and coercion
They require security They commit to the organization’s objectives
They are motivated by threats of punishment (rewards)
They avoid taking responsibility They seek some inner fulfilment from work
They lack ambition Accept responsibility and accountability
They do not use their imagination People can be creative and innovative
Herzberg (1960) developed motivates; a desire to avoid pain or deprivation (hygiene factors) and a desire to
learn and develop (motivators). An important insight was that hygiene factors did not motivate workers, but
that their withdrawal would demotivate the workforce.
Hygiene factors Motivators
Pay Achievement
Company policy Recognition
Quality of supervision/management Responsibility
Working relations Advancement
Working conditions Learning
Status Type and nature of the work
Security
The cognitive approach to change
Interested in learning about developing the capacity for language and a person’s capacity for problem solving;
what happens in the brain? This approach is focused on the results that you want to achieve, although crucial
to their achievement is ensuring that there is alignment throughout the cause and effect chain.
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Achieving results
What are my core values and how do they dovetail with those of my organization?
What are my limiting beliefs and attitudes and with what do I replace them?
What is my most effective state of being to accomplish my goals and how do I access it?
What specifically do I need to be doing to achieve my goals and what is my first step?
What specific outcomes od I want and what might get in the way?
Setting goals
The assumption is that the clearer the goal, the greater the likelihood of achievement. Green (2001) suggests
that what makes an outstanding sales person is the two key areas of business focus and personal motivation;
goal setting looms large.
Making sense of our results
The cognitive approach suggests we pay attention to the way in which we talk to ourselves about results. Once
we have identified our usual way of talking to ourselves we can look at how these internal conversations with
ourselves limit us, then consider changing the script.
Techniques for change
Positive listing List all positive qualities you have. By accepting that these are all part of you, the
individual, you can reinforce all these thoughts, feelings, and perceptions, which lead to
enhanced beliefs
Affirmations An “affirmation” is a positive statement describing the way that you want to be. The
statement should be:
Personal
Present tense
Positive
Potent
Visualizations Focus on a positive, present mental image. Effective visualizations require you to enter a
relaxed state where you imagine a specific example of the way you want to be.
Reframing Reframing is a technique for reducing feelings and thoughts that impact negatively on
performance. “imagine everyone in their underwear” run through it several times and
see what effect it has on your anxiety
Pattern breaking This is a technique of physically or symbolically taking attention away from a negative
state and focusing it on a positive. When you’re nervous, distract them with a cough or
clapping your hands to continue with what you wanted to say.
Detachment Similar technique with the same aim. Try stepping out of yourself
Anchoring and Two techniques where you use a remembered positive experience from the past which
resource states has all the components of success. Rerun the experience and pinch yourself and say the
word. Then try it the other way around; pinch yourself and say the word, the experience
should return. Do this when you feel anxious.
Rational analysis This is based on the notion that our beliefs are not necessarily rational. You should write
down all the reasons that are incorrect; be specific, do not generalize. Set measurable
criteria, objectively based, and use powers of logic. By proving that this is an irrational
belief you will eventually come to disbelieve it
Drawback: lack of recognition of the inner emotional world of the individual and the positive and negative
impact this can have when attempting to manage change.
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