Making mindset and behaviour change stick

Introducing the Body, Brain and Behaviour model.

Digital technology is forcing organisations to change at an unprecedented rate. While adopting new technology is a prerequisite, it is not sufficient. To achieve the full potential of Digital Transformation, people need to change their mindset and behaviour.

At Manpremo Performance, we focus on leadership development and the people side of Digital Transformation. Using our science-based Body, Brain & Behaviour model, we develop Sustainable Performance-Enabling Behaviours for the digital age.

Change never stops and within an organisation it is important to view change management as a continuous process that requires a certain mindset and set of behaviours. It takes effort to change mindset and behaviour and therefore it is important to consider people’s capacity to change.

Being clear on the meaningful purpose of the change, is an important factor in igniting and sustaining change management. Starting with a clear WHY and “what is in it for me?” provides people with a common understanding that the work they are doing is meaningful and worthwhile (Sinek, 2011). A common purpose also unites people and provides momentum, no matter how challenging the situation (Crumbaugh & Henrion, 2001). People thrive on a sense of belonging and an understanding that what they do matters (Ryff & Singer, 1998).

A vision, clearly communicated and linked to the purpose, then directs the effort required and provides the strategy for how to get there (Kotter, 1995).

As the purpose and vision become clearer, the required mindset and behaviours are defined to enable an organisation to realise its vision (Kotter, 1995). We believe that enabling people to adopt a new mindset and set of behaviours, requires clarity on what the mindset and behaviours mean to them; a definitive approach on how they can live them on a day to day basis; triggers that nudge the desired behaviour and very importantly the capacity to implement the change.

This is what the Body, Brain & Behaviour model is designed to do.

Competence and Behaviour

Behaviour is influenced by mindset (attitude), which we will cover below. But before we get there we want to highlight the fact that by practising the right behaviours, we build the competencies required to gain the desired outcomes. We help people to identify and build what we call Sustainable Performance-Enabling Behaviours, which are behaviours that enable people to improve their performance without sacrificing themselves.

Much of our daily behaviour is automated by our brains to save energy (Neal, Wood, & Quinn, 2006). If it proves to be worthwhile, the more we repeat a behaviour the more likely the brain will turn it into a habit.

Once the habit is formed the behaviour becomes automatic, meaning less will-power or conscious effort is required to implement it. The behaviour has become an integrated part of who we are. We will talk more about habits in a following article, although at this point it is important to highlight that there are simple ways to limit the effort required to turn a new behaviour into a habit.

Mindset

Our mindset (attitude) is influenced by our beliefs and values (Dweck, 2009). If we carry the belief that mistakes and failures are bad, this influences our mindset and can result in an attitude that causes us to shy away from challenges incase of failure and to give up easily whenever we hit an obstacle (Dweck, 2006). A related belief is that effort is only required when you are not good enough. This can lead to what is called a fixed mindset which is the belief that our abilities are static. Where as a growth mindset is based on the belief that our abilities can be developed through effort and practice (Dweck, 2006). Adopting a growth mindset helps people to see failure as a chance to learn and encourages the belief that they can constantly develop and get better via experimentation and embracing challenges (Dweck, 2006).

Encouraging the right mindset helps people to not only practice the desired behaviours but also to persevere when the going gets tough.

Capacity and the Mind-Body Connection

Even though, as mentioned above, we can use our understanding of habits to limit the effort required to change and adopt new mindsets and behaviours; change management still requires mental and physical resources. Factors such as amount of rest, what we eat and levels of movement, influence our optimal physical condition. Importantly, our physical condition influences our mental state, brain performance, behaviour and ultimately our capacity to change. The importance of the mind-body link is quite obvious, but we tend to be unaware of our bodies and their impact, until a problem arises (Ohno, 1998).

The reverse is also true as certain behaviours do indeed directly impact our brain, body and how we feel. For example the science of embodied cognition has shown that your happiness rises when you smile (Niedenthal, 2007).

We use a simple metaphor called the Rider and Elephant (coined by NYU psychologist Jonathan Haidt) to help people better understand how their brains work and using this knowledge, better understand their behaviour and the behaviour of others. This understanding provides the necessary awareness of how the body’s condition impacts the way that their brain functions and impacts how they behave.

For example, the part of the brain (Rider) we need to do most of our executive functions at work (solve problems, make decisions, control our impulses) is one of the most energy hungry parts of our brain and tires easily (Baumeister & Tierney, 2011).

Our brain’s key aim is to keep us alive and to maintain homeostasis and energy efficiency. Behaviour such as working for long periods without recovery breaks or constantly multi-tasking, dramatically reduces the capacity of the rider and therefore our executive functions (Baumeister & Tierney, 2011). This can easily be understood and most people subjectively realise this when it happens (just think about the quality of your work, the last time you had back-to-back meetings all day and skipped lunch). But even though this is easy to understand, it has often been hard to objectively measure and prove this link and impact.

We use data driven and technology supported techniques to enable people to gain an objective measurement of the impact that things like rest, sleep, movement and food has on their brain, how they behave and ultimately how they perform. We also provide people with objective data on how they spend their time at work (Emails, Meetings, Focused time, etc.).

This awareness helps drive engagement and intrinsic motivation to change the behaviour’s that make the biggest impact on the person’s physical capacity. We then brake these behaviours down into tiny habits that provide quick wins that are easy to sustain.

Sustaining the change

To ensure the desired mindset and behaviour is sustained in an organisation, it helps to create a sense of community and as mentioned above, to provide triggers which nudge people into remembering both the behaviour and its importance (the why).

We use our Be At Your Best community to bring people together, so that they have a collaboration platform and central hub, in which to share their experiences; offer input and feedback to each other and essentially to maintain the shared sense of purpose, behind the changes. The community also provides the ability to trigger individuals or teams into implementing the desired behaviours, across the organisation, in tiny steps, that help to highlight the small, but very important wins.

There are public and private (company specific) versions of the community which can be accessed via the web or a mobile app; so it is easily accessible and promotes engagement. Through the community, on-line learning can be provided to assist in continuous learning. Leaders and change agents are able to provide additional one-to-one or one-to-many coaching where necessary.

The analytics provided by the community system, helps organisations realise the impact of the change initiative; to identify where additional input is required and to understand which initiatives could provide further impact.

You can learn more about the Body, Brain & Behaviour model and meet other change-leaders in the Be At Your Best public community. Joining the community will also give you access to content that helps you develop Sustainable Performance-Enabling Behaviours for the digital age.

Join the Be At Your Best community here.

References:

Baumeister, R., & Tierney, J. (2011). Willpower: Rediscovering the greatest human strength. New York, NY, US: Penguin.

Crumbaugh, J. C., & Henrion, R. (2001). How to find meaning and purpose in the life for the third millennium. International Forum for Logotherapy, 24(1), 1–9.

Dweck, C. S. (2006). Mindset: The new psychology of success. New York, NY, US: Random House.

Dweck, C. (2009). MINDSETS: Developing Talent Through a Growth Mindset. Olympic Coach, 21(1), 4–7.

Kotter, J. P. (1995). Leading change: Why transformation efforts fail.

Neal, D. T., Wood, W., & Quinn, J. M. (2006). Habits — A repeat performance. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 15(4), 198–202.

Niedenthal, P. M. (2007). Embodying emotion. science, 316(5827), 1002–1005.

Ohno, T. (1988). Toyota production system: beyond large-scale production. crc Press.

Ryff, C. D., & Singer, B. (1998). The Contours of Positive Human Health. Psychological Inquiry, 9(1), 1.

Sinek, S. (2011). Start with why: How great leaders inspire everyone to take action. Penguin.