For many leaders and executives I work with, retention is one of their top 2022 concerns.
What is driving this?
Many things, including living and working through the pandemic, and economic and social turmoil, have prompted individuals to prioritise flexibility and fulfilment.
Organisations are reviewing business strategies, workforce models, values, and culture steered by new demands from employees themselves. Amid this era of massive transformation, leadership and performance consultants like myself have a mandate to help employees struggling with the heightened needs for growth and meaning with the pressing task of preparing their companies for the future.
The workforce is undergoing a transformation journey. Companies are being forced to reconsider their approach to talent management and acquisition due to globalisation, the development of artificial intelligence, and a new generation of buyers who want more intuitive, individualised brand experiences. Workers with skills like flexibility, technology literacy, and people management that enable them to stay up with this rate of change are now in high demand. But it’s difficult for organisations now to retain and hire them.
Promises of luxurious benefits and compensation are not the only considerations to attract top talent. Therefore, improving training and development programs can increase staff retention and develop their capabilities and strengths to the next level to keep up with changing environments and technology. However, despite having sophisticated programs, I frequently hear from executives who have difficulty achieving their objectives. The biggest problem with many programs is they weren’t created with the user or the employee in mind.
My career has been heavily influenced by user-centred programs prioritising the user to ensure success and comprehension. While training is frequently required when teaching individuals new capabilities, it just represents the beginning of the learning journey, and coaching support is the glue to gaining behavioural change.
We all have different mental maps, as no two brains are alike. And yet, we often assume we are on the same page as other people and that the information in our brain is known to others. Every person’s journey, no matter how similar, is different. Therefore, communication is one of the most challenging skills to master, as we all interpret things differently. Learning programs need to cater for these nuances, including health and well-being.
WHY Neuroscience programs for business can help
The role of neuroscience is to explain behaviour in terms of the brain’s activities. We provide the essential bridge between academia and the corporate world to deliver brain-friendly goals, results, and outcomes.
How the brain marshals its billions of individual nerve cells to produce behaviour, and how the environment influences these cells. The field of neuroscience program for businesses identifies what is required for effective decision making, problem-solving, innovation, emotional regulation, collaboration, influencing, developing, and engaging the right mindset for self-leadership and for those leading others to reach goals.
Most importantly, how to adapt and transition through changing environments. Knowing how people function and think can transform your business results to gain your vision and purpose more effectively, protecting the health and well-being of your people at the same time.
The power of 90-day programs
I am often asked how long it takes to create a new habit?
Forming a new habit can take anywhere from 18 to 254 days.
In my experience working with thousands of clients, it takes around 90 days for a sustainable new habit to become automatic and not so cognitively taxing. Daily repetition is vital for forming a new habit and gets more accessible over the 30, 60 and 90-day milestones.
Reflecting on the past two years with the pandemic and workplace trends from working remotely and hybrid models, it is taking the workforce around 90 days to adjust, adapt and operate in a rhythm of productivity. Some of my CEO and HR clients have mentioned recently that they are finding it challenging to get their people back to work in the office environment regularly as they face resistance.
It takes effort to change and different energy to return to working in the office environment and concerns around health safety. Habits are like a muscle doing something new, or a different routine takes energy and practice before it becomes easier. We often have behavioural habits that no longer serve us in this busy digital age.
Neuroplasticity can be defined as brain’s ability to change, remodel and reorganise for purpose of better ability to adapt to new situations. Vida Demarin, Neuropsychiatry.
Program elements that drive sustainable behavioural change
Neuroscience evidence-based development program improves communication, engagement, collaboration, decision making, problem-solving, resilience and overall performance and productivity.
1st step – PRISM Brain Mapping Professional Behavioural Profile survey, identifying existing behavioural wiring (habits) via the PRISM brain mapping model. Highlighting the parts of the brain, they are tapping into and exploring how to leverage their capabilities and strengths (individually, within a team environment and as a whole organisation).
2nd step – Every participant to review their PRISM profile and answer questions about the purpose of their role, the four things required to be successful in their role in the next 6-12 months, what energises you and de-energises you (threat and reward triggers).
3rd step – Four brain-friendly workshops 2.5 hours, one week apart, to allow time to work with some core models tailored to your business and people requirements.
Understand the brain’s resistance to creating new wiring and capability to adapt. Learn to be more adaptive to different situations, lead teams effectively through change, help others to develop more productive habits and form new thinking, emotional & behavioural habits to achieve business outcomes in brain-friendly and healthier ways.
4th step – Individual or small group brain-based coaching – to help with embedding their 1-3 goals within 90-days – 6 x1-hour coaching sessions every two weeks.
Why coaching is the glue in gaining the desired results?
Getting people to create new behavioural wiring is increasingly essential in our rapidly changing work environment. Change requires ongoing attention and a significant effort. Otherwise, an estimated 87% of workshop learnings will be lost in 1-month.
From the brain’s perspective, when we have learned to drive a car, we have developed new circuits controlled deep within the brain, and information can automatically be transmitted in certain situations. Forging new circuits is like cutting through the dense new forest rather than following a well-worn trail. We must go much slower and put much more effort and attention into every new path we travel and create.
Any new habit takes a lot more energy in the form of attention (Jeffrey M. Schwartz, M.D. is a psychiatrist and researcher in the field of neuroplasticity).
Understand the keys to the brain’s ability to learn and develop by focusing on strengthening new neural pathways.
5th step – Finale – 1-hour session – Reviewing the key learnings from each participant 5-mins at the end of the 90-day coaching program to the whole group on their learning journey – what’s working and areas of focus moving forward. This is enormously powerful for each participant to share and own their learning journey and connect with one another.
Each workshop participant will receive a copy of the REWIRE for SUCCESS book – An easy guide for using neuroscience to improve choices for work, life and well-being to help support your learning journey.
Learning outcomes
- An overview of the core brain functions, including what impacts decisions, innovative thinking and solving problems with insight and engaging others with the intended impact
- Strengthen your brain’s ability to focus on what is most important. To improve your self-leadership confidence and communication by understanding your behavioural strengths and what energises and de-energises. How your emotions impact others and how to effectively reach your WHY/ Purpose / Goals
- Improve stakeholder engagement with the brain in mind that positively impacts health and well-being.
Your action
Book a complimentary 30mins session via this Calendly link to see how you can create a high-performing habit for yourself, your team or an entire organisation.
About Link Success
Leadership and performance experts specialising in Neuroscience practices to help businesses grow and connect in meaningful ways whilst delivering measurable results in healthier ways.
Our ‘WHY’ improves the lives, productivity and performance of individuals, teams and organisations while positively impacting their health and well-being. Leveraging the latest scientific research made possible because of technological advances, we know there is a better way to evolve in this busy digital age.
Vannessa McCamley is the Founder, Principal Consultant, Coach, Facilitator, Author and Keynote Speaker
Vannessa has earned a reputation for assisting organisations, teams, and individuals in achieving impressive results through behavioural change. She leverages the latest in Neuroscience for brain-based, evidence-rich strategies to improve leadership of self and others. The outcomes for organisations are increased capabilities across performance, resilience, decision making, creative problem solving, productivity and revenue.
A passion for helping people and businesses to overcome obstacles allows them to reach their strategic goals. Bringing over 20 years of IT business experience collaborating with individuals at all levels and spanning several industries.