The Power of Social Norms

When attempting to lead change that involves changes in people’s behavior, we often forget the power of social norms, habits, and systems that reinforce the old way of doing things. 

My colleague, Burgess Levin, recently illustrated this phenomenon when he spoke at the HumanR/PSC Federal Contracting Conference.  He talked about a study in which researchers invited subjects to walk across a freshly plowed field.   When the researchers plowed the field between subjects, they found that people crossed the field in a variety of ways.  But something interesting happened when the researchers stopped plowing.  The first subject created a trail as he crossed the field. The next subject chose to walk in the footsteps of the first person.  After that, most subjects chose to follow the path that had been worn into the dirt.

To me, this study is a powerful metaphor for change inside organizations.  If we want people to change a behavior, we need to consider who they tend to follow, what habits have become ingrained, and what paths (processes and systems) are in place.  If we don’t change all of the above to align with the desired change, most people will continue to walk the same path.

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