Common sense says that people will listen to reason and change behaviors based on research and facts, but that is not what motivates people at all. People are social creatures and depend chiefly on social norms to influence their behaviors and make decisions. If you tell or show someone that other people have behaved in a similar way before them, they are more likely to engage in the same behavior (Cross, 2013).
I liken this to peer pressure. Every kid-based sitcom and public service announcement in the 1980’s warned us of the dangers of peer pressure. These ads and programs showed a pack of ne’er-do-wells encouraging another student to engage in a questionable behavior. After a show of internal conflict, our brave child hero bucked the peer pressure and “just said no,” giving us an example of the behavior we should follow. These programs fought peer pressure by changing the social norm – Everyone is just saying no. You should, too.
One of the big takeaways I had from Cross’s lecture is that change is hard and that if you want to implement change you have to present the change as a safe choice, or a safe behavior, to engage in. Early in my first career, when I saw that something needed to change for the better of the firms I worked for, I would do research, show all the reasons change would be good for the firm, and present a way to make the change possible in the least invasive way. Those sound like reasonable, common-sense ways to get buy in on a project. Every time I was met with, “well, what are other firms doing?” or “Did Such and Such Firm do that?” In my head I thought, “Why does it matter? Don’t you want to be an innovator and be the first?” Partners in the firm routinely gushed over some other firm doing something new and innovative, but rarely liked to take on the risk themselves. Therein lies the reason, I think, social norms are so important; change is risky.
If you can show someone that others have done something before them and been successful, then there is a clear path and low risk. People want to succeed not fail. According to the Growth Mindset, failure is ok. We learn from failure. We do not get groundbreaking innovations without failure. But failure can hurt the bottom line and force people out of their comfort zone. This is why true innovators are so important, but extremely rare.
In our conscious minds, we all know that following social norms is not always the best course of action. We must fight our fixed mindset to take a risk. But, because most people find safety in low-risk behaviors, the quickest way to change behaviors is to find influencers who matter to the persons who need to approve change; influencers who can model the behaviors necessary for change.
Three Myths of Behavior Change - What You Think You Know That You Don't: At TEDxCSU [Video file]. (2013, March 20). Retrieved January 27, 2021, from https://youtu.be/l5d8GW6GdR0
Comments