Culture Change Needs More Than Clarity: Motivate the Elephant

by Aaron Chan

In the first part of this series, I talked about Direct the Rider. Because before people can change, they need clarity. They need to know:

Where are we going?

What needs to change?

What does the new behaviour actually look like?

But there is a problem.

Sometimes people know exactly what they need to do…

…and still don't do it.

Why?

Because knowing is not the same as wanting.

This is where the second part of Chip and Dan Heath's Switch comes in:

Motivate the Elephant.

The Elephant needs a reason to move

In the Switch metaphor, the Rider represents our rational mind, while the Elephant represents our emotions, instincts and motivation. The Rider can have the best plan in the world. But if the Elephant doesn't want to move, the Rider is going to have a hard time getting anywhere. And I think we see this all the time in organisations.

Leaders communicate the strategy. They explain the business case. They present the numbers. They run the town halls. Everyone nods. Everyone understands.

And then…

Nothing really changes. Perhaps the problem isn't that people don't understand the change.

Perhaps they don't feel a reason to change.

Find the Feeling

We often assume that if we give people enough information, they will change. But culture change is not purely a rational exercise. People need to feel something. They need to see why the change matters to them, to their colleagues, to their customers or to the organisation.

Shrink the Change

Another reason people resist change is because the change feels too big.

“We need to transform our culture.”

“We need to become more innovative.”

“We need to become more customer-centric.”

“We need to completely change the way we work.”

It can sound exhausting just listening to it.

So perhaps we need to make the change smaller.

Instead of asking:

“How do we become a feedback culture?”

Ask:

“What is one feedback conversation we can have differently this week?”

Small changes are easier to start.

And once people experience a small win, the change doesn't feel quite so impossible anymore.

Momentum matters.

Grow Your People

There is another part of culture change that I think leaders sometimes overlook.

When we introduce new behaviours, people might feel judged. And when people feel judged, they defend. They justify. They resist.

So perhaps instead of positioning change as:

“We need to fix what is wrong with you.”

We position it as:

“We are building what is possible for you.”

There is a big difference.

A culture of accountability doesn't mean people were irresponsible before. A culture of feedback doesn't mean people were doing everything wrong. A more collaborative culture doesn't mean individual contribution is no longer valuable. The organisation is simply asking people to develop new behaviours because the environment has changed. And this is where leaders have an important role to play:

Help people believe they are capable of becoming part of the change.

People need to see themselves in the change

Perhaps this is the part that resonates with me most. Culture change isn't just about changing what people do It is also about changing how people see themselves.

When the new behaviour becomes part of someone's identity, it becomes much more sustainable.

We no longer need to constantly tell people what to do.

They start doing it because:

“This is who I am.”

And that is a very different kind of change.

So, what can leaders do?

Perhaps start with three simple questions:

What do people need to care about?

How can we make the change smaller?

How can we help people see that they are capable of making the change?

Because sometimes, the issue isn't a lack of capability.

It isn't even a lack of clarity.

It's a lack of emotional energy.

The Rider may know where to go.

But the Elephant needs a reason to move.

And once the Elephant starts moving, something interesting happens.

The journey becomes possible.