Demonstrating behaviors (at work)

Observations of a behavioral designer

One of the special treats of working as a behavioral designer is observing the demonstration of behavioral science practices across disciplines. Below are some principles I’ve observed (at work) over the years .

It’s the context, not the person

As behavioral designers, we know that one’s context affects one’s decision-making. We’ve learned this through studies on jam choice, wine selection, and order effects. Seemingly small design choices matter, especially in the aggregate.

Just as the music in a wine store can affect our wine choice, our personal environment can affect how we show up at work. What’s the implication? If someone seems out of sorts, ask about their environment!

Or, as social psychologists Lee Ross and Richard Nisbett advise, consider asking “What were the details of the immediate context of the behavior? How was the situation construed by the actor? And what was the broader social context or social system within which the actors were functioning?” Examining the situation, not the person, means giving colleagues the benefit of the doubt. We know our colleagues have the best intentions!

And, when examining how we might improve, turn the question to a challenge about the context. We know that if we change the context, it’s likely to spur a change in behavior.

No sunk costs

After we invest our time, effort, and resources into something we have a tendency to see that thing through. Once we’ve sunk costs into something, we want to keep going! I know I’ve pushed for an idea for a bit too long because of the resources we’d invested.

But from work on idea generation, we’ve seen that oftentimes we arrive at our one stellar idea after thinking through many others. On the path toward that one stellar idea, it’s important to accept the sunk costs. In fact, waving goodbye to those sunk costs is a positive sign — it demonstrates how our thinking has evolved!

Some of my favorite collaborations have been with folks who accept the sunk costs as an inevitable part of the design process. I’ve found that this mentality inspires idea generation, maintains forward momentum, and facilitates identifying that great end product collaboratively and quickly.

Framing matters

Just ask your content colleagues — language is powerful. How we frame concepts steers the perceptions of our users and builds user mental models for how something works. (Metaphors are a great example powerful framing.)

Framing of collaboration on a work project matters, too! Our framing of work together steers partner perceptions that build our mental models for how we work together. When I frame collaboration, I try to frame it in a way that brings us together while acknowledging we’re here to solve hard problems. As I do this, I channel a visual of Liz Fosslien’s — this is about us and the problem. If we confront a tension in the design process, this tension isn’t about your idea or my idea, it’s about us and solving the problem together. And by the way, challenges like this are why we’re here! We’re not here for the easy stuff, we’re here for the gnarly challenging stuff.

My favorite projects haven’t been the easy ones. My favorite projects have been the ones that pushed me, expanded my perception of my capabilities, and asked more from me than I knew I could give. In each of those projects, my colleagues and I had a strong framing of us against the problem.

Pro tip: This framing helps with those sunk costs!

Connect to intrinsic motivation

We’re intrinsically motivated to do something when we find it inherently enjoyable. Working with intrinsic motivation means connecting work to tasks that colleagues naturally enjoy or are naturally motivated to do.

Working on volunteer projects I learned that inquiring about colleagues’ why at a project kick-off surfaces each teammate’s intrinsic motivation. Then, when we divided the work, we prioritized positioning each teammate to the project phase that connected with their intrinsic motivation. Personally, I saw how this translated to a strong sense of pride in the work, and it made me proud to support a colleague’s growth. A simple round of one question — what excites you about this project? — can facilitate this.

My career has grown through raising my hand for projects connected with my intrinsic motivation. In fact, it’s how I found the field of behavioral design! Identifying teammates’ intrinsic motivation is an important step to supporting their professional growth and this energy can be powerful fuel for the team.

Show progress

Showing progress is motivating! Tracking progress makes often intangible growth tangible, and seeing progression is motivating.

How you track progress should be modified for you and your team. Personally, I’ve seen a variety of tactics work:

• Map detailed sub-steps in your work tracking software. Checking items off of that list shows incremental progress to you and your team. (Here at Klaviyo we use monday.)
• Reflect on what you’re proud of during a team ritual. This public declaration can inspire those around you. And, taking a moment to reflect on your performance accomplishments builds your sense of self-efficacy or confidence. (Shout out to Klaviyo, Jason Breen, who let me in on this team ritual of his.)
• Use sticky notes. A mentor of mine wrote about how she survived the initial days of COVID isolation through tracking progress toward her goals — and it involved a lot of sticky notes. Seeing progress matters.

We spend a great deal of time at work. Seemingly small practices — like tracking that progress towards a goal — matter, especially when examined in the aggregate.

Connect to shared vision

We like to be a part of something. “Something” can be big — redefining an entire field of work , for example — or it can be seemingly small — we treat others with respect here.

Take it from the folks at BetterUp, “the data show that, collectively, 1) our connections to others and 2) our connection to the work itself matter the most for intent to stay [at our current work place]”. Tracking progress is important, and especially powerful when this progress is connected to a broader, shared, vision. When we feel like we’re a part of something, we feel a stronger sense of belonging, connection, and mattering. Each of these can influence retention and productivity. Perhaps more importantly, these feelings facilitate psychological safety, sharing of ideas, and enjoyment. And, I know that I prefer to enjoy my work!

Connecting our work — yes, even those seemingly small tasks! — to the broader organizational mission and vision helps us feel connected and like we’re a part of something. This shared sense of meaning simply makes us feel good.

Define social scripts

Being a part of something also provides guidelines on how to behave. These guidelines create synchrony, which benefits group cohesion.

One of my favorite examples of defining social scripts comes from The Art of Gathering author, Priya Parker. In an interview, Parker describes a gathering with a very specific social script. This gathering was titled, “Worn-Out Moms Hootenanny” and had a simple rule, a shared (and fun) consequence for talking about your kids. In Parker’s telling, the event was a hit.

Simple guidelines about how to behave in a shared work environment give us a shared sense of purpose and promote cohesion. For me, this was unintuitive at first; I’ve always attributed strict rules with compromised space for productivity. Over time I’ve enriched my perspective; and now, when fostering a culture on a team, I like to remind myself of Priya Parker’s advice that guidelines support us.

“Yes, and” mindset

If you’ve ever been a part of an improvisation group, the “yes, and” mindset might sound familiar. This mindset supports cohesive story development on stage and it supports idea development at work.

Despite taking improv classes in high school, I learned about the “yes, and” practice by facilitating design workshops. During these workshops, I witnessed how a simple “yes and” reaction prompted generative ideation. I also saw how this reaction is contagious. One prior client even joked that they were signing up for an adult improv class after our sessions!

As someone who loves exploring ideas together, this “yes and” mindset is one I endeavor to carry into conversations with colleagues (and friends!). (And, shout out to Klaviyo, Diana Reed who shared this as a generative practice to facilitate 1:1 conversations — it’s not only for improv and design workshops, folks!)

Do any of these resonate? What are other principles that you apply to your work? Post in the comments below!