Following on from my previous posts on neuroscience, today we are going to lift the bonnet on how the brain tackles change.
Experts in neuroscience believe the brain dislikes change, so wants to naturally return to what it used to. This could explain why making organisational change can be so difficult.
When change is introduced, our brain automatically starts to compare the change with the status quo. This expends a lot of energy, something the brain naturally resists. Whereas sticking with what is familiar burns little energy – leaving the brain “happy”.
We have touched before on the impact of fear or survival, and change brings about those emotions. We become negative when we are afraid, and resistant.
The trick is to change emotions to positive ones. Thus making the idea of change more attractive.
Psychologist Barbara Fredrickson believes we can achieve this by building new habits.
You will have no doubt heard that it takes 21 days to build a new habit. In truth it isn’t that simple. It depends on how big the change is – how deeply the habit is entrenched. Hence it is much harder to give up smoking than it is to read for 10 minutes before sleep.
So, to make change more effective, help your team by introducing small changes at a time. Effectively, you are helping them to build new habits.
If we start something we have an innate desire to finish it – so asking an employee to start a task, or take one very small simple step of an action, will lead them to complete the whole action. And, more importantly, leaves the employee feeling good about themselves, as they have gone beyond your expectation. It becomes a win/win.
Creating these win/win situations is instrumental in developing positive emotions in your team. And the more positive your team feel, the more they trust you. This will help you to bring about the trickier aspects of any change you need to implement.
As with all aspects of leadership, good communication is paramount. The more you share, the less fear you create. Uncertainty breeds fear more than anything.
Of course, I have simplified this. You are not going to achieve overnight success. You need to take small steps and see this as more of a marathon than a sprint.
Naturally, you will want help and support to make any change effective. And that’s where we come in. We have a successful track record in supporting business with change. So if you would like help implementing change in your business, please contact us on 01256 328 428.