How you get kids to wash their hands can tell you a lot about effecting change
Posted by Lee-Anne Ragan | Filed under Change management & wellness, Training & development
Washing hands prevents sickness, prevents spreading disease. Washing your hands properly can reduce your chances of death, yes death, by up to 35%.
Nothing new there.
Smoking kills. The World Health Organization says that 4.2 million people died prematurely in 2000 from smoking. Smoking stinks, it’s expensive and (as a non-smoker I can only imagine) the inconvenience of having to eek out a place where you’re actually allowed to smoke has to be grueling. (insert caveat here: this is from a mostly North American perspective where there are mighty few places folks can freely smoke. I acknowledge it’s very different in other parts of the world.)
Nothing new there either.
So why then do so many people smoke? And why do so many people not wash their hands properly?
It’s not just about information, facts and theories (apologies to Head Life Lenses™) but rather about social influences, emotions and values (a tip of the hat to Heart Life Lenses™).
As learning and development specialists, recognizing these influences is key to developing and delivering engaging workshops that are relevant and memorable. And key to effecting change, because after all, as a trainer you are change maker. The status quo isn’t an option.
Here’s a look at effecting change through getting kids to wash their hands (6:20 min) done by Hyrum Grenny, son of guru Joseph Grenny.
(This is one of the resources from the recent Rock.Paper.Scissors e-newsletter interviewing global change agent Sara Mitaru.)
Tags: head life lens, heart life lens, hyrum grenny, josephy grenny, sara mitaru
December 17th, 2010 at 3:05 pm
brilliant-my mind is exploding (in a good way)over here. zowee.
also–wonder what he’d call the influence of using his kid and kids in the exemplar video?
love it. totally worked my synapses. thanks, Lee-Anne.
December 20th, 2010 at 7:22 pm
Oh quick witted, quirky one – good point. Yes, I do wonder what he’d call that influence. There’s another one that Hyrum does where he films people’s reactions to people cutting in line. Very funny but for the life of me can’t find the link.
Happy to have been the juice for your synaptic fizzy drink.