How do we support and sustain behavior change?
For learning to have any chance of making a long-term impact, our programs must inspire participants to take action. This is easier said than done. What must we focus on to increase the chances that the right actions unfold during and after learning?
Answering this question involves unpacking what we mean by actions.
What actions must be nurtured?
Whose actions must be nurtured?
How do we support and sustain action?
What actions must be nurtured?
Beth Salyers, learning design expert, encourages us to look at both internal and external actions. Beth joined me in this week’s industry leader chat and we geeked out on what it takes to make learning more actionable! Beth described internal action as something that shifts within the learner, such as a change in mindset, beliefs, attitudes, or how they process information. External action refers to observable behaviors and actions a learner takes in the real world. She notes that for learning to be considered truly actionable, there needs to be evidence of both internal change as well as corresponding external actions.
What does this mean for those who design, deliver, and evaluate learning? Ideally, we understand what needs to shift internally for our learners that will support them in changing their actions externally. What we think and believe has a significant influence on our actions. Do you know what your employees, customers, and students think and feel about the actions you are asking them to practice? Is there alignment between their thoughts and feelings and the actions and behaviors you are teaching?
To make learning more actionable do a needs analysis uncovering answers to the following questions. This same line of questioning can also be used as a checks and balances to evaluate how people’s internal and external perspectives have changed after training.
How does your target audience feel about the topic and actions you plan to teach them?
What does your target audience think about the topic and actions you plan to teach them?
What does your target audience know about the topic and actions you plan to teach them?
What is your target audience already doing in and around the topic and actions you plan to teach them?
Review the answers to the questions above and reflect: How does my target audience’s present feelings, thinking, knowledge, and actions align (or not) with the goals we have for how we would like them to feel, think, know, and do?
How do you plan to support your target audience to overcome the gaps in feelings, thinking, knowledge, and actions?
What other sources of support might you need to fill the gaps you’ve identified (outside of your learning program)?
After you’ve designed and delivered your learning experience, you can use the same questions (1-4) to explore how participants feel, think, know, and do differently after they’ve completed your program. Did the answers to these questions align with your expectations for the program? If not, how will you continue to support participants?
Whose actions need to be nurtured?
Learning doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Learners need supportive environments to sustain behavior change. Thus, the actions we need to support in our learning interventions must go beyond the learner and include stakeholders, managers, and peers. Here are some helpful questions to determine what additional support and reinforcement systems you might consider incorporating in your learning design.
How are organizational stakeholders currently modeling the behavior we are encouraging from our program participants? Are they modeling the behaviors we wish to see, or aren’t they? If they aren’t modeling the performance or behavior change, this is something that must be discussed as the tension between stakeholder behaviors and the behaviors of everyone else will become a source of organizational conflict.
How might managers and other department leaders need to support program participants to sustain the performance or behavior change we wish to see?
How might peers be a useful source of support to sustain and reinforce the performance and behavior changes we wish to see?
How do we support and sustain behavior change?
The answer lies in alignment. Is your target audience internally motivated and are their feelings and thoughts aligned with the behaviors we wish to see? Are stakeholders, managers, and peers equipped to model and support the behavior we wish to see in our program participants? If you discover any mis-alignment as you investigate the answers to questions above, these must be addressed to ensure your program can create maximum impact!
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