Change Management Starts with Changing Minds
Managing effective change is essential in human resources. After all, program implementation depends on doing something different than what we were doing yesterday.
There are numerous change management theories, but we’re a long way from a unifying theory on the topic. However, that doesn’t mean the change management battle is a guessing game. Howard Gardner, the Hobbs Professor of Cognition and Education at Harvard, has written Changing Minds: The Art and Science of Changing Our Own and Other People’s Minds. In the book, Garnder, who developed the theory of multiple intelligences, offers key points about change management from an individual point of view. In a HGSE News interview he spoke about two key elements for changing minds (and, ultimately, behavior):
[M]inds are most likely to be changed if they are introduced to the new idea or concept in as many appropriate ways as possible…[I]t is not enough to merely repeat a point over and over again. For example, if you are teaching the theory of evolution, it is useful to enforce the instruction with additional ideas in visual or hands-on support such as diagrams, simulations, narratives, logical syllogisms or live demonstrations (e.g., fruit flies).
Second, the lever of overcoming resistance recognizes that individuals develop very strong theories and concepts—often misconceptions—about the world when they are young. These ideas tend to become entrenched early on, and teachers regularly underestimate the strength and persistence of these formative ideas. Yet, unless these misconceptions are challenged, students are likely to remain with these early ideas or maintain them alongside the new and more adequate concepts. Thus, the dedicated teacher must find ways to undermine these early ideas and keep them from re-emerging.
Professor Garner’s book is a good read for those who are involved in change management efforts. An important distinction he makes about changing minds is that the effort cannot be through manipulation or secrecy. In Getting from Oranges to Apples in CIO Magazine, he says:
I don’t believe behavior change lasts unless people’s minds change voluntarily. I’m interested in leadership that’s overt and mind-changing that’s intentional.
Garner gave an interview to NPR where he explains all seven of his Changing Minds principles. It’s an easy, five-minute way to get the essence of the theory. And for the auditory learners out there, it’s how you’ll want to get your information.
Full disclosure: I’m applying Principle #1: To change minds “introduce the concept in as many appropriate ways as possible.”
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One Response to “Change Management Starts with Changing Minds”
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This looks like a fascinating book. Change is a topic we will never be able to avoid; it will never change. The best ideas are the ones where you say duh, I knew that. C.K. Prahalad got famous for telling us to do what we are good at. Michael Porter had the insight to analyze the competition. Howard Gardner points out we that we need to:
1) Segment and target our audiences; and
2) Anticipate objections.
Got it.