Three Myths in Change and Transformation
Myth 1: The Incentive Myth:
-If we provide the right incentives (or penalties), they will work harder. -Reality: Incentives buy temporary compliance, not long-term commitment. -Insight: External rewards create controlled motivation. Performance quality degrades because the behavior is dependent on the reward.
Myth 2: The Information Myth -If they understand the facts and the 'why,' they will change. -Reality: Training solves a skill gap, but rarely a social or structural gap. -Insight: Knowledge is the weakest predictor of behavior change. Even when people "know" better, they are often overruled by other factors.
Myth 3: The Habit Myth -We just need to push them through the first 30 days until it becomes a habit. -Reality: Habits are the output of successful change, not the input. -Insight: Automaticity (habits) only occurs in the institutionalization phase. Pushing for "habits" too early causes burnout.
What's going to work:
The biggest mistake in transformation is assuming you can change people from the outside, because people are not machines waiting for the right input.
If your change initiative feels like constant pushing, it's because you're trying to control behavior instead of creating conditions where people actually want to behave differently.
Three Questions to Diagnose What's not working
1. The Autonomy Check If you stopped the bonuses, stopped tracking performance tomorrow, would people still do the right thing? If you answered no, then you've built a compliance system, which means people stop caring about the work itself and start optimizing for the reward.
This doesn't mean you stop recognizing good work, recognition that helps people see they're improving builds mastery, however using say money to buy behavior destroys the desire to do it for free.
2. The Friction Check Is the old way still faster or require less thinking than the new way? If you answered yes, then you haven't actually addressed the system.
When people are under pressure or tired, they'll revert to what runs on autopilot.
3. The Belonging Check Does the new way feel risky or will people get criticized for doing it? If the new behavior makes someone stand out, slow their team down, or look incompetent while learning, they'll abandon it to protect their standing.
Remember fixing a culture that punishes early adopters is different than just fixing a tool.
Finally, change happens when people no longer want to keep doing things in the old way and go from:
I have to(compliance).... to I want to (meaning).... before you can expect.... I do it automatically (habit)