Ep 027: Joseph Grenny

SUMMARY:

Leadership is intentional influence, and the most enduring kind of influence results when other people actually change their behavior based on your leadership. This episode features Joseph Grenny, a leading social scientist for business performance. He shares his research-based insights into how influence works so that leaders can leverage their impact to change people’s behavior for the better.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• Leadership is intentional influence.
• Leaders should spend more time learning how to change behavior.
• Our world is in need of changed behavior.
  • Humans spend 3 billion hours playing online games every week.
  • 7 million people (1 in 34) in the U.S. are under the supervision of the correctional system.
  • Worldwide obesity has doubled since 1980.
  • Smoking rates in the U.S. dropped from 44% in the 1950’s to 21% by 2008.
• If leadership influence isn’t leading to different habits and behaviors, then we aren’t leaders.
• There are six sources of influence that either work for you or against you.
  1. Personal Motivation: Changing the behavior is supported by a new motivation.
     • Your job as an influencer is to change the frame. Don’t just teach principles, connect to values.
  2. Personal Ability: Changing the behavior is supported by learning a new skill.
     • People who engage in “deliberate practice” are more successful.
     • The practice setting must approximate the real world.
  3. (& 4.)Social Motivation & Ability: Changing the behavior is supported by other people.
     • Replace accomplices with friends and coaches who model, praise and help.
  4. (See above)
  5. Structural Motivation: Changing the behavior is supported by introducing costs, incentives and accountability.
  6. Structural Ability: Changing the behavior is supported by environmental factors.
     • Use surroundings to make bad choices harder and good choices easier.
• Those who used all six sources of influence were ten times more likely to experience behavior change.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS:

1. Reflect on your own leadership. Have you been successful in leading behavior change?
2. Of the six sources of influence, rank them from top to bottom. 1 = The source you lead in most naturally, 6 = The source that is furthest from your leadership.1.
   2.
   3.
   4.
   5.
   6.
3. What is one strategy you can create around a source of influence to create behavior change?

RESOURCES MENTIONED:

Nairobi, Kenya

Mathare Slum

Jamii Borra Bank

Dean Karlan

RELATED LINKS:

Joseph Grenny

The Global Leadership Summit