When I think about the essence of the work we do with individuals, leaders, teams and organisations, we are really the architects of behaviour change. We support our clients to change the structure of their brains, change their habits and get better outcomes, whether it be in presentations, performance conversations, operational efficiency, team collaboration, negotiations and organisation wide culture shifts. We partner with clients for the long-haul to adopt new ways of working and being and, over time, build new scaffolding in the mind and automate behaviours that get results.
My husband is in residential construction, and I often tell him that I don’t envy him one bit and have no idea how he stays sane and does what he does so well despite unreliable subcontractors, shoddy work and a host of other setbacks. He still reckons my work is harder and he’d rather build something physical or remodel a home than be the architect of the mind and build new neural networks. Maybe he is right! Constructing new habits is arguably harder than constructing a home. Thankfully, I love my work and the challenge it presents.
I think we can help ourselves immensely by understanding the science of behaviour change and the critical Key Steps needed to enable holistic and sustainable change. I’ve aimed to make this as simple and practical as possible so we can really take Key Steps to…
‘be the difference that makes the difference.’
- Understand habits and the brain. Researchers at Duke University found that more than 40% of our actions each day are based on habit rather than conscious thought. When considering how to create a new habit, such as providing more meaningful feedback to your team, the brain must override its default wiring and create a new response to triggering situations. Habits free us to focus on new things, making us (i.e. our brains) more efficient and productive. They enable us to cope with huge volumes of information, choices, decisions, emotions and goals. When we create habits, it reduces cognitive load and assists us in making advanced decisions. How does this happen?
- Neural pathways and brain regions: he basal ganglia, located deep in the brain, are central in habit formation. The basal ganglia help encode repetitive behaviours and routines, allowing them to become automatic over time. Initially the cortex is heavily involved (this is where effort and hard work come in to lay the new neural pathways) but we do eventually transition from goal-directed actions (more conscious and effortful) to habitual actions (more automatic). Basically, you have to do the conscious hard work until the basal ganglia take over.
- Neuroplasticity: Neuroplasticity is the ability of synapses (the connections between neurons) to change in strength based on their patterns of activity. Repeated behaviour strengthens the synaptic connections between neurons. This is a key mechanism underlying the formation and reinforcement of habits. This is known as the HEBBIAN THEORY OF LEARNING; Canadian Neuropsychologist Donald Hebb’s work is often famously referred to as “Neurons that fire together, wire together.”
- Neurogenesis and age: We used to believe that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks but you can! Adult neurogenesis is a rapidly evolving field with significant implications for understanding brain plasticity. What we know for sure is that adults can engage in life-long learning and change the structure of the brain well into their 90s. It just takes work and certain environmental factors make a big difference (more on this in point 6).
- Dopamine and reward centres: This is the positive outcome that follows the routine and reinforces the habit. It’s the “feel good” experience that your brain associates with the behaviour. In the case of exercising, the reward might be the release of endorphins, a sense of accomplishment, increased stamina or a stress reduction. Often it can take time see the desired outcomes of new behaviours (like weigh loss following exercise, or teams becoming more independent when you adopt the approach of a coach instead of problem solving for them) and this is where we can get demotivated. This is why you want to catch yourself and others getting it right as much as possible. And why it is so important to celebrate along the way and not only at some predefined victorious endpoint.
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- Know that lapses are normal and part of learning. We cannot actually unlearn. By definition, habits are deeply ingrained patterns of behaviour. This can make them hard to change. When we stop a habit (like snapping at a colleague when they interrupt us), this neural circuit gets weaker, but it doesn’t ever disappear completely. The key is to strengthen the new neural circuits – to do this we need motivation, CPR (explained in point 4 below) and feedback. Under stress, old circuits often become favoured again until the new one is extremely well worn. So, if you slip into an old patter, it isn’t a failure. It is an opportunity to learn and keep building the new neural pathways.
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- Question your motivation. Ask yourself, “Do I really choose to change?” If you are not sufficiently motivated to change and it doesn’t feel meaningful and aligned with core values and critical outcomes, you set yourself up for failure. As humans, we typically resist change – even those that are good for us – because the old habit is so hard wired and easier than the effort to form the new one!
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- Apply the CPR of habit formation. Creating habit loops is actually really simple but that doesn’t mean it is easy because the prefrontal cortex needs to be so heavily involved at the start until the basal ganglia take over. Don’t give up. Learn from your mistakes and before you know it, you’ll move into unconscious competence.
- Cue: In essence this is how you will remember to remember every day. You need cues that trigger the behaviour you want to establish. These cues can be specific times of day, environmental cues, emotional states or any other signals that prompt you to take action. For example, if you want to develop a habit of reading daily, you can use cues like setting a specific time for reading or placing a book on your nightstand. Habit stacking is a good strategy that involves linking a new habit with an existing one that is well established thereby leveraging the cue of the current habit to trigger the new behaviour. By linking an if-then plan to an existing habit, one is able to embed the habit more deeply. For example, a manager might have a habit of focusing on what the team did wrong instead of what they did right. In this situation, the manager might say: If I want to give feedback during our 1:1 conversation, then I will pause and first ask a question about their thinking. By reframing the event with an if-then statement – and following through on the “then” action enough times – you can support the growth of a new, better habit.
- Practise (or routine): Once you’ve identified the cues, define the routines you want to establish in response to those cues. In other words, what are the tangible Key Steps that you plan on putting into practise. Be clear about the specific actions you’ll take. If your goal is to exercise, outline the type of exercise, duration, and any other details. The routine should be manageable and aligned with your goals. You need to be able to answer the questions: When, where, what and how, very specifically.
NOTE: The system (the HOW) is more important than the goal (the RESULTS). If you don’t focus on HOW to get there, goals remain dreams.
- Reward: Associate rewards with your new habits. Some can be intrinsic (a sense of accomplishment) or extrinsic (treating yourself to something enjoyable). Rewards reinforce the habit loop, making it more likely that you’ll repeat the behaviour in the future. It’s so simple. Catch yourself and others getting it right to get the dopamine release needed to keep you motivated over the long-haul.
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- Ensure enabling conditions. Setting yourself and others up for success is vital. Exercise, learning, environmental enrichment, and certain dietary factors can enhance neurogenesis and habit formation. One of the key factors that decrease neurogenesis, not surprisingly, is stress! This is why psychologically safe environments help us successfully form new habits throughout our lives. In addition, if you want to eat healthier – don’t buy cookies or put the cookies out of reach. Studies show that when you practically enable your environment to support you and reduce exposure to cues that trigger bad habits, you increase your chances of successfully creating new habits by as much as 70%.
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- Write down your intentions and practise. Practise is crucial to rewiring the brain. It turns out that writing down our intention to change a habit greatly increases our chances of following through. A 2002 study found that 91% of people who planned their intention to exercise by writing down when and where they would exercise each week ended up following through.
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- Take it slow, start small and be consistent. Consistently take small Key Steps to lay new neural pathways, create a sense of accomplishment and build momentum. Once you tip the first domino over or take the first few small Key Steps, the knock-on results can be astounding. Consistently do CPR and your new habits will become your new normal.
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- Get support. Because habit formation requires significant effort over time, it can be easier to default to old behaviours and give up. The value in having an accountability partner is significant. This might mean engaging with a coach, using a consulting team like ours (we would be really excited to help you) or even journalling consistently about your progress, setbacks and learnings. Journalling is a habit in itself and one worth forming.
You are the architect of your mind. You shape your habits and construct your life every day. Your life is in your hands, but you don’t have to do it alone.
We are here to support you to take Key Steps to…
‘be the difference that makes the difference.’
