Agile feedback drives accountability and sustained behavior change
| Pages | 295-302 |
| Date | 12 November 2018 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/SHR-07-2018-0063 |
| Published date | 12 November 2018 |
| Author | Allan H. Church,Lorraine M. Dawson |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour,Employee behaviour |
Agile feedback drives accountability and
sustained behavior change
Allan H. Church and Lorraine M. Dawson
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paperis to describe a data-driven approach to driving accountabilityfor
behavior change at the individual level, i.e. the ‘‘Development Check-In’’ (DCI). It has become an
accepted realitythat 70 per cent of all organizational change effortsfail. The reasons cited are many and
include such factors as a lack of focuson the hard and soft sides of the organization,misaligned reward
systems, disengaged leadership and new interventions introduced at the expense of existing efforts.
While all of these are important, weargue that accountability is the most critical element for ensuring an
interventionsticks and delivers lasting results.
Design/methodology/approach –The DCI reflects the principlesof agility and accountability, and has
been used with great success in a large consumer products organization. The paper begins with an
overview of the need for feedback tools to drive accountability, followed by a discussion of the design
and processof theDCI.
Findings –Highlights from the authors’use of the customized process to measure and reinforce leader
capability developmentover time are then provided. The paper concludes with some recommendations
and additionalconsiderations.
Originality/value –Behavior change is not easyand requires focus, direction and a way of measuring
progress.The DCI is an example of an agile multi-raterfeedback accountability mechanismthat provides
leaders and managers with targeted and positively oriented feedback to support their continued
development. This type of tool can be used beyond leadership development for a variety of types of
interventionsbecause it is based on sound organizationdevelopment principles.
Keywords Learning and development, Accountability, Agility, Talent management,
360-Degree feedback, Behavior change
Paper type Case study
Over the past 25 years, it has become an accepted reality that 70 per cent of all
organizational change efforts fail. Although the original supporting research dates
back to the late 1990s (Beer and Nohria, 2000), numerous examples of failed
change efforts continue to surfaceas various interventions are implemented just to fall short
of expectations (Pasmore, 2015). The reasons cited for the lack of lasting impact of most
interventions are many and include such factors as a lack of focus on both hard and soft
sides of the organization, process rigidity, misaligned reward systems and goals, poor
execution, disengaged leadership and ongoing midstream changes and new interventions
introduced over and above or at the expense of existingefforts.
While all of these are important,we would argue that accountability is the single most critical
element for ensuring an intervention “sticks” and delivers lasting results. Without
accountability mechanisms in place to track, reinforce and provide new insights into how
development and change is occurring, many interventions remainsingle events executed at
a point in time. Although these events can be highly engaging and motivating, their impact
on long-term behavior change is often limited. While larger organizational systems must
also be aligned (Burke and Litwin, 1992), if new behaviors are not being properly defined,
Allan H. Church is SVP,
Global Talent Assessment
and Development at
PepsiCo, Purchase,
New York, USA.
Lorraine M. Dawson is
Manager, Global Talent
Assessment and
Development at PepsiCo,
Purchase, New York, USA.
DOI 10.1108/SHR-07-2018-0063 VOL. 17 NO. 6 2018, pp. 295-302, ©Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 1475-4398 jSTRATEGIC HR REVIEW jPAGE 295
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