Why develop people?
It is human nature to resist change, because the uncertainty is threatening for a brain that is trying to keep us alive and safe. When we feel uncertain or anxious, our fight/flight mechanisms are set in motion and we stop thinking so clearly and instead focus on survival.
So, its tough for the brain to change its plans – even when we change our minds or decide on a new path, it does not necessarily mean we change our behaviour. For example you may decide in your head that you want to eat less and move more, but this doesn’t always translate to actually doing it… But it is the first step.
During organisational transformation, we are asking people to change how they think, act and lead. Firstly we need to engage their brains in understanding why its important, then give them the skills and confidence to do the new thing, practicing it so it becomes second nature, before finally creating the environment in which doing the new thing is easier than doing the old.
So why run learning programmes? Whether it is classic leadership development, developing people through change, soft skills development, team learning or looking to the future with sustainable leadership, great learning programmes should be a testbed to create momentum for new ways of working.
Your leaders hold the key to future success, they need technical, strategic and interpersonal skills to deliver the future, and the ability to apply these in different ways for different circumstances.
For your change to stick, you need to give people the skills and confidence to approach complex change, the mindset to embrace it, the practice to embed it and create the environment or experience in which the new approach is easy.