In This Episode…
Today I have been delivering a leadership seminar in Paris. One of the topics I covered was behavioural change. A key principle in successful behaviour change is the impact of consequences.
Many (wrongly) believe that all that’s necessary to initiate behaviour change is to trigger the new behaviour.
In this episode, live from Paris Gare de Nord), I share my thoughts on the impact of consequences on changing behaviour.
Episode Show Notes…
00:45 – Behaviour change is a hot topic in my world because the gathering of knowledge and information isn’t sufficient to make behaviour changes. If you want to make some changes, you’ve got to start doing things differently.
01:11 – Aubrey Daniels is the father of positive reinforcement and he developed the ABC model of behaviour change:
- A = Antecedent – the trigger for a new behaviour.
- B = The Behaviour.
- C = The consequence of the behaviour.
01:40 – As an example. As I sit in Eurostar departure lounge in the Gare de Nord in Paris, if a fire alarm went off (Antecedent), everyone would leave the building (Behaviour) and survive any potential emergency (Consequence). If there truly was a fire after the alarm had gone off (Antecedent) and we stayed (Behaviour) then it’s likely we’d get burnt (Consequence).
02:29 – When I reflect on the impact of my training on the delegates I wonder whether they’ll take any steps to implement the information I have shared with them.
02:37 – Unfortunately I think the answer is likely to be NO. This isn’t because my training was deficient. On the contrary, the feedback scores were all 9s and 10s out of 10 across the range of questions asked.
03:09 – Here are just some of the reasons why it’s unlikely they’ll make any significant change:
- 03:11 – Change is always a challenge and requires us to get out of our comfort zone – that is often uncomfortable which can be seen as a threat by the brain.
- 03:35 – A training course is an Antecedent and they don’t change behaviours, consequences do.
- 03:49 – They might not be clear enough on what changes to make, despite going to great lengths to get them to identify exactly what to change.
- 04:23 – It is possible they might have a fixed mindset.
- 04:38 – They have yet to experience the positive consequences of successfully applying the information I have shared.
- 05:17 – being busy people, they might just revert to what they have always done because it is easier.
- 05:29 – I won’t be there to hold them accountable.
05:53 – Does that mean there is no hope? Absolutely not. I might have inspired them just enough to apply the knowledge I shared. I know they liked it. I know they were impressed with it. It is now up to them.
06:21 – Personally I am acquiring a lot of new information as I develop my productivity skills. I am overdosing on antecedents. Does that mean my behaviour won’t change? No – I am experimenting and learning from my experiences because I am developing a growth mindset.
06:45 – And I am using this podcast to hold myself accountable.
Until tomorrow…
