We all have things we’d like to change about ourselves, our teams, and our social circles, but creating that change can be a daunting task. It’s easy to make sweeping proclamations about changes we want to see (like a New Year’s resolution), but the real key is to build opportunities for creative thinking, habit disruption, and incremental change into your existing routines. Whether you are managing a team, searching for strategies to improve yourself and adopt new habits, or simply seeking a little more creativity in your day to day life, you can harness the science of behavior change to see positive results in just a few minutes each day.
Here are links to summaries of new books to help you get started:
Liminal Thinking
Dave Gray
Dave Gray’s newest book, Liminal Thinking, asserts that we can create opportunities to “find and create new doorways to possibilities, doorways that are invisible to others.” We are all constrained by routine beliefs that we (often unconsciously) hold onto despite a lack of evidence. Luckily there’s an effective prescription: disrupt your routines, seek out opportunities to be present, and challenge your unconscious belief structures. Through practice and attention you can hack your brain to see new possibilities. Dave Gray recently sat down with Actionable founder Chris Taylor to discuss the art of liminal thinking on the 21st Century Workplace podcast.
Brain Disruption
Bruce Montgomery and Gail Montgomery
If your team is feeling stale, try some improvisation to get them thinking about new ideas. Brain Disruption outlines the rules of improv and some practical tips for how to use spontaneous creation in a business setting. The first rule of improv is to say “Yes, and…” to accept all ideas from your team and build on them. The authors of Brain Disruption cite a study that determined “there are neurological consequences to working in an environment where “No” is the expected outcome.” By practicing saying yes, you create ideal conditions for a creative, collaborative, and engaged team culture.
And if you still aren’t sure whether improv can influence new business outcomes, you can read more about how improvisation builds effective teams.
The Behavior Breakthrough
Steve Jacobs
When trying to change a behavior, it’s tempting to make sweeping declarations that represent massive changes in the way we approach our work or lives. (I, for one, have failed to implement New Year’s resolutions for more than a week or two). The Behavior Breakthrough asserts that the key to behavior change is to reward small, consistent changes. This summary outlines several actionable strategies that you can implement with your team today to change behaviors that impact your bottom line.
These summaries have one crucial element in common: the changes require just a few minutes of action, but need to be completed on a regular basis. The first step is to identify the outcome you wish to see (more creative problem solving, a more cohesive team, etc.), and then think about how you can harness the science of behavior change to achieve those results.
Share these summaries with your team and start a conversation today!
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