By Daniel Bobinski
Most managers and leaders seek ways to improve the effectiveness of their organizations. Such efforts are commonly discussed in boardrooms around the world. Unfortunately, leaders often encounter resistance when attempting to implement their improvement plans. The reasons for this are not personal, they’re scientific. Resistance to change occurs because of how our brains are designed.
Thankfully, neurological processes have been identified, and methods have been developed that allow for faster and better adaptation of needed change.
In this article, I’d like to point out three factors that allow leaders to implement change in the most effective way with minimal resistance. To be clear, these three factors do not originate with me. They were identified by David Rock and Jeffrey Schwartz in their research on the neuroscience of leadership.
The three factors for enabling effective change are focus, expectation and attention density.
Focus
A person’s focus is extremely powerful. Consider the phrase, “That on which you focus you get more of.” By focusing our attention on something, we stabilize our brain circuitry. When working with teams to effect change, the first thing to do is get people focused, and that means giving them a desired picture of the future. Usually done with word pictures, the idea is to give your team a mental image of what you want, not what you don’t want. This is important, because mental circuitry resists being changed once a picture is in place.
Ever try to get someone to do something by telling them what you didn’t want them to do? The story that made the biggest impact on me regarding the importance of proper focus comes from one of the best pitchers in Major League Baseball history, Warren Spahn. In game four of the 1957 World Series, Spahn was one out away from winning the game for his team, the Milwaukee Braves. Tension was high. It was the top of the ninth and the Braves were ahead 4 – 1, but two men were on base for the New York Yankees and respected slugger Elston Howard was at the plate with a full count.
Spahn’s manager, apparently trying to break the tension, called “time” and came out to the mound. The only thing he said was, “Whatever you do, don’t throw him a high outside pitch.” After the manager returned to the dugout, the only words flashing through Spahn’s mind were “high” and “outside.” That inadvertently became his focus, and as you might image, Spahn’s next pitch was high and outside. Howard swung on it for a home run and tied the game.
Although the Braves eventually went on to win the game and the series itself, Spahn shared this story with many groups throughout the years, questioning why anyone would ever motivate another person by giving them a mental picture of what they didn’t want.
In terms of focus, paint a picture of what you want, not what you don’t want.
Expectation
The second factor necessary to create effective change is expectation. To illustrate this, consider two neighbors. One sees people primarily as lazy while the other sees them as desiring to do their best. Each one will look for — and see — behaviors to validate their expectations.
If people don’t see what they’re expecting, their brains perceive an error. Another way to say this is it’s a deviation from the norm, and when people are in unfamiliar surroundings, they often have a sense of fear. Most people prefer familiarity, favoring the safe feeling of being in predictable environments.
Because fear is an obstacle to making changes, team leaders must create what I call “emotionally safe conditions.” That’s because when people feel safe they are more open to change. Leaders can do this by asking people to explore possibilities. In other words, come up with their own expectations. The important thing is to let team members see possibilities on their own terms. People rarely believe things will be better just because a leader tells them it will be better.
Attention Density
The factor that ties everything together is called attention density. This is a fancy phrase that refers to the amount of attention given to a particular subject over time. Stated another way, talking about change is not a one-and-done thing. On a regular basis, a leader must keep talking about the big picture and asking people to explore the possibilities of how that big picture can come about.
Attention density is one of the reasons extended training is so effective. A one-day training workshop puts learners face-to-face with new material for six or eight hours. In many ways, it’s a data dump. But if training is conducted one hour per week over eight weeks, learners are in training for the same amount of time, but they’ve internalized a much higher percentage of the subject matter.
This increase in retention occurs because of the two factors mentioned above, focus and expectation. First, each learner’s brain gets to stabilize its mental circuits on the subject (focus), and second, each learner has time to recognize and personally own the possibilities that accompany the new material (expectation).
In the same way that these three factors create better training, they are equally powerful when a leader wants to implement change. By way of review, to better implement change, leaders should:
• Talk about the new idea in a broad, big picture way (Focus)
• Ask people about their ideas for how to best achieve the big picture (Expectation)
• Do both of these often, and do them informally (Attention Density)
One final tip. As leaders interact with people, they can also share insights that other team members have had, thus building momentum and unity. It’s also wise for leaders to not shut people down if their ideas aren’t exactly lining up with needed change. First, new ideas may be truly transformative, but even if the ideas are way off, a little peer pressure and side bar discussions can go a long way to straightening things out.
Bottomline, the combination of focus, expectation and attention density work well to minimize fear and resistance so beneficial change can be implemented with greater speed and buy-in.
Daniel Bobinski, who has a doctorate in theology, is a best-selling author and a popular speaker at conferences and retreats. Reach him at danielbobinski@protonmail.com or at 208-649-6400.
