Tricky TreatBy Dr Richard KazbourI was consulting with a teacher who was frustrated at a child in her kindergarten classroom because of his “disruptive behavior.” And it was getting much worse. We say to our clients: “If a behavior is happening there must be a source of reinforcement in the environment.” I asked if I could observe the classroom and within 5 minutes of watching the class Zach was reprimanded for getting out of his seat. The teacher sent him to the principal’s office at which point he was sat in front of a computer desk where he was given access to games until it was time to go back to class. We’re not always present for the reinforcement maintaining behavior but it’s always there.

Positive Forecasting By Dave LeesMy 3yr old daughter goes to our local nursery. There are behavioural professionals linked to the nursery and their advice is really good. They recently explained the principle of positive forecasting. Rather than the individual battles of “get your coat”, then “get your shoes”, then “get in the car,” you tell a story: “As soon as we have your coat and shoes, we can get in the car and go to the beach.” I now muse on the possibility of using this technique with some of my coaching clients!

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Not My Farm, Not My Pigs By Bruce FaulknerSometimes we try to be helpful and end up taking on a problem that isn’t ours. Other times people up the hierarchy try to give us their problems. Both scenarios are frustrating and futile. The critical thing to recognise is when we don’t hold the decision-making authority. Under those conditions we are setting ourselves up for a world of pain.We may find ourselves in a situation where we’d prefer to step away, declaring “Not my farm, not my pigs.” It’s not the most constructive thing to say out loud, though. In those situations, we also want to avoid a passive, obedient response like, “I’ll try my best.” Instead, have a think about the situation. How and where will this problem show up again? Pathing it out will help pinpoint who is going to experience what consequences. This is problem analysis, not problem solving.Now frame a suitable response. At this point stop talking and wait. The other person may express frustration or respond with some aggression. By doing this, they are confirming that you are on target. Establish where the decision authority actually resides. Ask that person for a decision. We may have to help by providing some analysis, but we aren’t accepting responsibility for the decision.I recently heard another version, ‘Not my circus, not my monkeys’. I am definitely going to use it.

Behavioural DigestNo. 97 - September 2018

Tickets on Sale Now:One-Day Workshop on

Strategy Nov 13th 2018: London, UK

www.hollin.co.uk

Shades of BMT• The green shoots of discretionary effort

can be quickly killed off by impatient and artless leaders.

• Bad management is like a bad tooth: It hurts a bit, you respond badly to people and it hurts some more. The nerve is deteriorating over time, gets worse, and eventually it’s un-saveable, it just has to be pulled.

• Brush twice a day, every day, and remember to floss. It’s worth it in the long run.

© Copyright 2018 Hollin Ltd. Editing by Lynn Dunlop, photo by Dave Lees.

Stop Doing Your Old JobBy Dave LeesGetting leadership behaviours to become part of the day to day is often a tricky prospect if newly minted leaders have come from an operational or technical background. When working for technical organisations it’s likely that the leaders will also be expected to deliver operationally as well as being a leader. So, once promoted into the new leadership position, the cards are stacked against a successful transition from old habits to new ones. In order to start exhibiting leadership behaviours a certain amount of deliberate energy needs to be added to the situation, to move away from the old repertoire. People often talk about stickiness when referring to training, and it’s the same for leadership. If it’s going to stick then just going on a training course isn’t going to cut it. Deliberate intervention is required. Here are a few ideas for new leaders:

• Set aside time to think about the team, the delivery of the team’s strategy, and how it is going to be led – what will be done, what will be said? If this consistently fails to happen, change the environment. Work from home or a library, or satellite office, for half a day a week. It’s important, and rarely done.

• Book in coaching one-to-ones, stick to them. Prepare for them, and follow up with action plans afterwards. Treat leadership as work to be done.

• Ask, is this new role too comfortable? If the new role is a move from an operational/technical role to a leadership role, it should feel different – if it doesn’t, then there’s probably something wrong, like the old job is still being done, not the new one!

• Don’t expect to be an expert immediately, so plan for it, set expectations, write a competence development plan – chances are that if promoted in a technical role, it was because of high levels of competence technically, so adjusting to a role where competence isn’t at a similar level can cause all kinds of dysfunctional behaviour if it isn’t admitted and planned for.

One-Day Workshop on StrategyThis workshop will take place on November 13th 2018 in Euston, London (UK). Tickets are on sale now. Successful strategies are delivered by forward-thinking organisations, yet this success relies on leaders creating the right environment in which their people engage with and deliver the strategy. The workshop will explore how insights from Behavioural Science can help leaders create such an environment. Attendees will leave with practical steps they can implement the very next day.The workshop is £585 per person, including lunch, booklets and a follow-up session with one of the two hosts, Garry Sanderson and Howard Lees. Visit hollin.co.uk or click here for more information or to book your place.

Mats Björklund’s WisdomBy Lynn DunlopI came across a Twitter thread from the retiring Head of the Animal Ecology Department of Uppsala University in Sweden. In it, he shares some wisdom from his career. You can read the whole thread here, but I thought I’d highlight some of my favourites parts.While Professor Björklund was writing for an audience of academic leaders, much of the thread was relevant for business leaders as well. For example, he says, “If you are head of a unit, people don’t work for you, you work for them.”Too often I see middle and senior managers in organisations who seem to have forgotten that they would have no job were it not for the people ‘beneath them’; the people doing the real work. I often think the world has its priorities backwards, with the most valuable people paid (and respected) the least.Another favourite was his thoughts on meetings. He says, “Avoid big ... meetings. They are just a venue for a small group of extroverts to do what they do best, i.e. being extrovert. A few loud ones rarely reflect the opinions of the main crowd.” He follows with, “If you need input from people for a decision, big meetings are often useless. One to one talks gives you the true opinion of people. Takes time but is so worth it.”I couldn’t agree more