“Beware of losing trust by blaming others (i.e. making internal attributions about them). Also beware of making excuses (external attributions) that lead you to repeat mistakes and leads to Cognitive Dissonance in others when they are making internal attributions about you. “http://tinyurl.com/24acxdd (from Changing Minds.org one of my favorite dig deep reading sites). The Attribution Theory.
Some change management connections-
- Internal attributions are often silent and shared- CM practitioners must learn to draw them out and attach new behavior/perspective.
- External attributions spread fast and can become mythical- They are best illuminated and stopped as quick as possible.
- Empathy is a powerful tool here- Despite the silliness of many of these attributions we all do it, it is human, acknowledge that.
- Cognitive Dissonance is uncomfortable- stakeholders are often thrilled to have a CM help them clear the fog.
- See previous bullet point for speeding up and making decisive, decisions.
- Much like negative attitudes these attributions are easily reinforced- hence the ability to overcome the reinforcement, and to teach how, is a key competency for CM’s.
Keep the Attribution Theory in mind early in your change efforts (and throughout since it takes awhile to change the behavior). Your goal as a CM/leader should scrape away anything that points fingers, clouds perspective and influences others to not participate or worse leads others to sabotage the initiative.
