February 11, 2019
Want to Change Someone Else’s Behavior at Work? Here’s What to Do
Crazy-Making Co-Workers: As I wrote in my book: Stop Pissing Me Off!, we are frequently driven mad by the behavior of those with whom we work. It doesn’t matter if they are our boss, associate, or co-worker, we are all victims of social contagion, the idea that others’ mood and behavior can affect our own. Yet because we are all social creatures, we can take advantage of that basic law of nature.
What Works In Changing Others: We may spend our time day dreaming that we have a magic wand to make them different, but do we actually know the science behind what works? While not every person responds to your own actions, many do in large and small ways. As an example, research has shown that we can encourage others to adopt our goals by taking specific steps.
What Should You Do?
If you want to change someone’s behavior, try these steps:
- Use Visible Actions: If you want someone to adopt your goals, make sure they are visible. When you want a leader to be more open to others’ complaints at work, for example, be sure to keep your own office door open and encourage interruptions. Even if it is less efficient, research has shown that workers feel more encouraged to bring up difficult topics if the boss is not squirreled away.
- Formulate Daily or Short Term Goals: We are hard-wired to seek immediate gratification, that is why many of us are addicted to messages and tweets coming through our phone. When you are striving to create change, make sure that you break it down into small steps. While a vision can be large and inspiring (let’s go to the moon!), people become bogged down in the how without short term or daily goals that will lead to the vision.
- Checklists Help People Map Their Environment: Recent studies have shown how to reduce deaths in hospitals by requiring healthcare workers to follow checklists, even with regard to simple tasks like inserting an IV. Change happens when we are constantly reminded of a big goal (save lives), as opposed to being allowed to drift, no matter how annoying those check-ins can be.
 Make It Difficult For People To Avoid Change: Smoking in the workplace used to be tolerated. Now most workplaces don’t allow workers to smoke inside. Because their employers have taken this step, millions of workers have quit or reduced smoking, simply because they didn’t want to walk outside and/or endure the cold.
What Do You Think?
As a leader, how do you encourage people to tell you the truth? Call or write us at: 303-216-1020 or Lynne@workplacesthatwork.com
 Did You Know
All of our workshops on leadership and management include discussions of what works in helping people change.
Call or write us at: 303-216-1020 or
Lynne@workplacesthatwork.com
Learn more about our training offerings and check out our team members at:
www.workplacesthatwork.com
Be sure to read Lynne’s book “Stop Pissing Me Off!” and learn what to do when the people you work with drive you crazy.
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