Attitudes and behaviors
It’s funny how a lot of the concepts in this book are somewhat psychological. They’re related to human thought and behavior. I guess that makes sense in a book about why people don’t act a particular way. It comes down to behavioral issues.
Anyway, the following was an interesting insight on behavior and attitudes. It turns out that people’s behaviors drive their attitudes far more than attitudes drive behaviors. I found that surprising.
Think of it this way. I would have thought that people act a certain way because of their internal attitude (i.e. people are negative because they have a bad attitude). Or, another example would be people who don’t try to change because they have a fearful attitude.
However, in the authors’ opinion, it’s more often the case that behavior shapes attitude.
People learn attitudes by taking action, or by doing. When you do something (behavior), your perception and mindset (attitude) is significantly altered. Ever heard the expression “that was a mind-altering experience.” That’s what we’re talking about here.
If you or your team are having what seems like an attitude problem, the solution might not be a pep talk. Action might be the answer. Their attitude will be more powerfully shifted than if you just talked at them.