In my last article, I presented the psychological steps of change and how to overcome the natural human resistance to it. In this installment, I’ll present an example of how to transfer those concepts into plans, the plans into actions, and the actions into continuous behaviors.

This process might be considered as a look at the psychological underpinnings of plan-do-check-act (PDCA). This is important because leaders and managers are paid to take action and get results, and that requires people to improve and evolve.

Before management starts to improve a person, department, or manufacturing process, it’s a good idea to invite those involved to help solve the problem. Two vital things happen here: 1) Involving people suggests trust in their abilities, which inspires them and encourages confidence and creativity; and 2) Psychologically this makes everyone working to solve this problem part of the same team and removes the “us vs. them” dynamic that often plagues these types of “smart boss, stupid employee” misperceptions.

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