How can so many companies today invest millions into training, coaching, and consulting, yet so few of them obtain the change they seek? The answer is that they are missing the center of their problem. The ONLY thing that changes results is behavior.
According to Dr. Wyatt Woodsmall, there are four reasons that people resist change. He calls them “chance to,” “how to,” “want to,” and “able to.”
1. Chance to: Systems problem – It first starts outside of the individual by measuring objectives and metrics. Improvement also needs to happen through the interaction of the parts of the systems. For example, the culture needs to support the change. If you don’t change the culture, the culture will ultimately undo any change that does happen. How are you directing your culture? A culture of support is necessary to help facilitate change.
2. How to: Training problem – This could simply be a set of procedures. You may frequently run into the scenario that something is preventing an individual from carrying out the task(s) at hand. Everyday, there is something we want to do and are capable of doing, but we are not doing. This is because the parts of us that DON’T want to do it are in charge. We need to eliminate that resistance and become aligned with our capable selves. If we are going to change, all the parts have to cooperate. Be aware. Which parts want to change? Where is there resistance? Values conflicts cause incongruous parts.
3. Want to: Motivation problem – We need a master to control our mind and body in order to get what we want. If the emotions are always changing, the master loses control. Understand what is driving this behavior and how to get it aligned in order to get to the next level. You may not be able to “get there from here,” but you may be able to start from somewhere else. How is it possible that we can commit to making a behavior change and then just not do it? We keep deciding to make changes, and keep NOT doing it over and over again. Short term change is the enemy. It’s not about learning a new technique or a new skill. It’s about changing who we are.
4. Able to: Personnel problem – This is pretty cut and dried. If you have the wrong people on the proverbial bus and/or in the wrong seats, it is almost inevitable that you will experience some kind of issues or problems.
The challenge with most business leaders and consultants today who try to help folks with change–whether that’s organizational or individual–is they simply don’t uncover all four issues. They almost always choose one or two areas of focus and move on from there. Why? They just aren’t equipped to help with all of them.
The best approach is to hire a consultant that gets all four arenas. Find one and let them work with you to build a strategy, training, and action plan to create an organization that is built on continual improvement with the backbone of personal mastery.
If you would like to benefit from a centered approach to up-leveling yourself and or your leadership team; if you want to create lasting change, please feel free to contact me directly.