November 21, 2022

Change can be viral

Two people arms stretched out and holding hands, silhouetted in front of a sunset red sky. Network of lit up dots imposed on the sky.

One of the most significant determinants of learning transfer is the culture of the organisation; after all, this is the sea within which all learning transfer activities swim.

If you want to change the culture, Dr Leandro Herrero in his book Viral Change (July 2008) suggests that change happens when socially contagious behaviours spread slowly through an organisation and reach a tipping point, after which they become the norm. He sees change as an infection that spreads and generates new ideas, processes, and behaviours within the culture.

Think of organisational culture as a collection of behaviours that only becomes big and imposing when viewed as an undifferentiated mass.

If culture is a collection of behaviours, you get culture change as the result of behavioural changes, not the other way around.

If the behavioural changes originate with people who have high social connectivity with others, high trust, or moral non-hierarchical authority, then those changes have more influence on the culture.

These individuals can create localised tipping points. Others copy the behaviours through imitation in a similar manner to the way fashions are created in society.

Think about who you have in your organisation who could form the nexus of a tipping point, and then work with them and support them to create the ripple that can become a wave of change.

My best wishes, Paul

Paul Matthews

CEO and Founder of People Alchemy

share this article:

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

related posts

Labrador puppies on a lawn

Learning from puppies: Training is for life not just for Christmas

Training is often still just focused on the training event. But to generate impact we need to create capability and see ourselves as capability managers.

Read More
cat stretched out comfortably on a cat sofa

Do you already know the cure?

Everyone seems to be searching for the magic information that will make a big difference in their lives. The truth is… you already know.

Read More

Setting up learning for success

In the second of two articles on establishing successful learning, Paul Matthews examines collective responsibility

Read More

Setting expectations

Setting up learning for success – In part 1 of 2 practical articles on how to establish successful training programmes Paul focusses on setting expectations

Read More

search blog

Get your free weekly tip

You agree that we can keep a record of your details, and send you other occasional offers. See our Privacy Policy