Managing Change, One Day at a Time

Leaders trying to transform company culture can learn from an unexpected source: addiction treatment programs. Changing individual behavior is the key - and many of the tenets used by 12-step groups can give managers insight into that difficult challenge and how to overcome it. At the simplest level, the comparison is this: Organizations can't change their culture unless individual employees change their behavior - and changing behavior is hard. Many change programs focus on providing strategies, technologies, and training. But often that's not enough. When it comes to modifying deeply ingrained behavior, 12-step programs have a superior track record. They use incentives, celebration, peer pressure, coaching to adopt new habits, negative reinforcement, and role model - things organizations can draw on.