TM - November 2007 - (Page 42)

recruitment & retention assessment & evaluation compensation & benefits performance management learning & development succession planning corporate change, these three principles also can bring about profound results: • Find the vital behaviors. • Change how you change minds. • Make change inevitable. Find Vital Behaviors and most important thing he did to deliver sustainably stellar results. Change How You Change Minds You can gain traction against even complex, global problems by influencing vital behaviors. Master influencer Dr. Mimi Silbert helped more than 16,000 hardened criminals turn their lives around at The Delancey Street Foundation by encouraging residents to confront one another’s bad behavior. Dr. Wiwat Rojanapithayakorn reduced new AIDS cases in Thailand by more than 90 percent by ensur- A group of automotive executives went on a benchmarking expedition overseas. After working on the manufacturing line and experiencing the culture of this world-class organization, these executives saw how a handful of practices dramatically affected costs, improved quality and increased morale. When they returned home, they were determined to help their 5,000-member workforce catch the vision of what’s possible. So, they did what most leaders do: They delivered a presentation with a lecture, a verbal approach that won’t work if you need real influence — their efforts were met with everything from apathy to resistance. A few years later, the plant was closed not because a turnaround wasn’t possible but because leaders lacked the influence to pull it off. On the other hand, Dr. Don Berwick is credited with helping save more than 100,000 lives from medical errors. His primary tool is not verbal persuasion. Rather, he creates experiences that allow people to discover why new behavior is needed. For example, after Berwick reviewed shocking data about health care executives regarding the tens of thousands of people killed annually by health care services, the leaders responded, “That’s awful! It’s a good thing that doesn’t happen in our hospitals!” To change their minds, he invited them to find one injured patient in their hospital and research the unfortunate circumstances surrounding his or her situation. In the corporate world, vital behaviors vary from one organization to another, and they might change along with market conditions and other external factors. The success of an organization’s change efforts relies on leaders’ ability to identify just a handful of vital behaviors. ing 100 percent condom use from sex workers. Howard Markman found that how couples behave when they argue can predict with 90 percent accuracy which couples will stay together and be happy and which will get divorced. In the corporate world, vital behaviors vary from one organization to another, and they might change along with market conditions and other external factors. The success of an organization’s change efforts relies on leaders’ ability to identify just a handful of vital behaviors. Jack Welch, for example, had two vital behaviors that he drilled into General Electric for 30 years. He said influencing these behaviors was the hardest When the executives discovered for themselves what really happened and why, they devoted the rest of their careers to advocating quality improvement to ensure the medical errors that led to accidents and fatalities in their hospitals were eliminated. By inviting them to directly experience the common and simple causes of medical errors in their own hospitals, Berwick cut through resistance and denial and gained enormous influence. So, if you want to help people understand the need for new behaviors, don’t design slides — design experiences. Make Change Inevitable 42 November 2007 Some leaders search for a silver-bullet solution. talent management magazine www.TalentMgt.com http://www.TalentMgt.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of TM - November 2007

Talent Management - November 2007 Editor's Letter Contents Letters to the Editor Human Performance Leading Edge Learning Connections Viewpoint Finding Candidates with the Right Fit Turning HR Data Into Business Intelligence Compensation Technology: Drive Higher Performance, Gain Competitive Advantage The Art and Science of Influence Training the Ethical Workforce Making the Best Managers Application: Pre-Hire Testing Drives Down Employee Turnover at Advnace Auto Parts Dashboard: The Role of Learning Business Process Outsourcing Insight: Nationwide Insurance: On Employees' Side Advertiser's Index Editorial Resources Full Potential

TM - November 2007

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