SUSTAINED CHANGE COMES FROM AN INTEGRATED APPROACH

One of the permanent challenges of trainers and educat= ors is how to make learning last. This is even more important when it refers to behavioral change, to transformational change, to development of new attitu= des.

The ARL Pentagon

Personal

Organization

Team

Professional

Business

We have found that for learning to last, it has to be integrated in a multilev= el perspective, paying attention to five levels.

PROFESSIONAL LEVEL

The professional level refers to the knowledge and = skills that are the learning content of a program. It may be a mix of new informat= ion, processed to change a mental framework, combined with practical guidelines = of “how to” implement the new behavior. To give an example, if the learning objective is to develop coaching skills, the professional level wi= ll pay attention to the models of coaching, to the process from the technical side, to the best context , to the conditions required, providing a framewo= rk and checklists. All this combined should help, with practice, to develop a successful coach. We try to change our way of doing.

PERSONAL LEVEL

The personal level refers to the attitudes that= make the behavior. It is related to the mindset and emotional framework that mak= e it possible for an individual to respond in a new way to a situation. When developing new behaviors, it is therefore key to help the person get awaren= ess of what the old behavior means, what the new behavior may mean, what in the attitudes has to change in order to have a successful new response. To foll= ow with the example, it is not enough to read and memorize a checklist to be a good coach: it is also important to develop a coaching attitude, which may = mean to discover that others have valuable ideas, that we need to be silent to h= ear them, that we talk too much a= nd need to ask more questions, etc. We have to change the way of being.

TEAM LEVEL

Individuals interact with others in multiple and diver= se situations. Therefore every behavior that we try to develop individually, w= ill be manifested and expressed sometime in an environment where there are othe= rs.

To learn how to = connect our behavior with others is therefore an essential piece to sustain our learning. For our example, it is not enough to learn the coaching process a= nd the mindset required, if we go back to our team and are unable to link what= we have learned with others, we may be isolated, disconnected, with a conseque= nce of poor collective performance, all which does not reinforce the new behavi= or. So the question to pay attention is how will this person bring the new beha= vior into a social situation, into a team situation, to enhance his/her contribu= tion and the performance of the group. We have to change how we are and act w= ith others.

ORGANIZATIONAL LEVEL

We all belong to multiple and diverse systems (organizations). This level is most important when we are developing new behaviors in employees, independent of their hierarchy. When a new behavior= is tried out, it is key that the organization offers support or at least consistency and acceptance of it. We all have experienced from close or afar what happens if this is not so: Workshops are run to develop creativity but pressure is put on avoidance of mistakes – while it is clear that creativity means = to try out new ideas, with higher risk of error. Learning is announced as a key va= lue, but failure is punished. Teamwork is promoted but the compensation system rewards individual achievements. These organizational inconsistencies rapid= ly neutralize any attempt of maintaining a new behavior. So it is important to actively seek and uncover the organizational inconsistencies, to address th= em. It is not possible to solve all and at once, but it is possible to progressively detect th= em and face them as organizational challenges to be solved.

BUSINESS LEVEL

This level actually refers to the application of a learning, to the relevance of a behavior. If we think back to our college student years, how many contents that we had to learn and memorize, practice and repeat, were relevant to us? How many did we immediately USE in action, in real action? And how much do we remember today?

The relevance is an immediate reinforcement of a learn= ing. When dealing with the corporate world, the business level refers to what wi= ll the new behavior help to address, what current, real situation will it help= to resolve more successfully. This level has not only been longtime neglected = in the educational system, but also in the world or corporate programs. How ma= ny programs ended with a good evaluation form, and the comments “Now let’s go back to real world”! What business problem/challenge w= ill the person be better prepared to face, tomorrow? How is the content of the program related to what is expected to be done back in the office? It is not enough to request Action Lists, commitments to implement, next steps list – if the program is a “just in case” content. “Learn how to deal with conflict, and go out tomorrow to find conflicts so you can practice. “ seems to be the message.

By using the real business problem as the arena for learning, all the natural learning needs will emerge, one by one: what knowledge do I need to solve this problem? What skills do I need to acquire= or improve? What makes it so difficult to progress on the task in this team!? = Why are we not listening to each other, giving adequate feedback, planning bett= er? What is it about me that makes it difficult to communicate with others?

All these learning needs emerge spontaneously when working daily, = when dealing with “real life”. That’s the key of the power of = the “just in time learning”. Stay in the real life, and just wait a= nd observe: the best moment for learning is about to happen anytime.

If any of the five levels is neglected, the chances fo= r the learning to last are minimal. It is enough for one missing level, that the behavior will not be maintained.

For this reasons , it is so important to pay attention= to the five levels simultaneously. It may be easier to focus just on one ̵= 1; but the results will be short-lived. Some important goals simply require mo= re effort.

Isabel Rimanoczy