Model The Change You Want To See In Others
Article | Accountability Insights
The way leaders think and act on a daily basis determines whether and how their people respect them, listen to them, and follow them. Remember, leaders create experiences for their people every single day. Those experiences create beliefs, beliefs determine actions, and actions produce results—either desired or undesired results.
Do you want or need to change the way your people perceive you? Here’s how “modeling the change you want to see in others” works. Whenever you receive feedback that what you are doing or saying is creating an experience for others that is inconsistent with the way you want them to think and act, apply the Methodology for Changing Beliefs. These five simple steps will immediately get people looking for evidence of your sincere desire to exemplify the way you want people to think and act. Both individuals and teams can use this methodology to stimulate robust dialogue around desired beliefs, actions, and results.
| 1. | Identify the belief (evidenced by the way people are thinking and acting) you need or want to change, then say, “That’s not a belief I want you to hold.” | |
| 2. | Specify the belief you want them to hold, by saying, “The belief I want you to hold is … ” | |
| 3. | Describe the experience you are going to create for them, say, “Here’s what I’m going to do to shift your belief about me … ” | |
| 4. | Ask them for feedback on the new experiences you are going to create, by saying, “Will that be enough to shift your belief; is there something else I need to do?” | |
| 5. | Enroll them in giving you feedback on your progress, say, “Will you give me feedback along the way?” | |
When leaders honestly execute each of the above steps, they launch the same thought process in those who are watching. Others quickly get the message that “I ought to be doing that, too.” The result? Everyone on the team begins thinking about and looking for the “new belief” behavior, and seeking that behavior both in their fellow workers and, most importantly, in themselves.
To learn more about how to model the change you want to see in others, join our Accountability Community at www.partnersinleadership.com, where you can review more accounts of teams and organizations that have actually done it.
Methodology for Changing Beliefs and The Accountability Community are both registered trademarks of Partners In Leadership Inc.