Carrot and Stick: The Flaw

Unfortunately, traditional change management tactics are based more in animal training than in human psychology. Leaders promise bonuses and promotions to those who go along with the change (the carrot) and punish those who don't with less important work and the potential loss of their jobs (the stick).

Though no conclusive research has yet been done, surveys have shown that people's primary motivation in the workplace is neither money nor advancement but rather a personal interest in their jobs, a good environment and fulfilling relationships with colleagues. The effects of bonuses, promotions and reprimands, though real and measurable, are all temporary.

"The carrot-and-stick approach works at the system-wide level - offering cash bonuses to the sales department to increase the number of customers in Latin America will get you more customers there, for example - but at a personal level it doesn't work," says David Rock, founder and CEO of Results Coaching Systems, a consultancy. "Our personal motivations are too complex, and you can only offer so many raises."

The traditional command-and-control style of management doesn't lead to permanent changes in behaviour either. Ordering people to change and then telling them how to do it fires the prefrontal cortex's hair-trigger connection to the amygdala. "The more you try to convince people that you're right and they're wrong, the more they push back," says Rock. Even well-meaning advice quickly raises warning flags in the prefrontal cortex that it is soon to become overloaded and exhausted. And just as quickly it begins to defend itself. "Our brains are so complex that it's rare for us to be able to see any situation in exactly the same way," says Rock. "So when we get advice from people, we're always finding ways that the advice doesn't match up with our own experience or expectations."

Not Your Change; Their Change

The way to get past the prefrontal cortex's defences is to help people come to their own resolution regarding the concepts causing their prefrontal cortex to bristle. These moments of resolution or insight - call them epiphanies - appear to be as soothing to the prefrontal cortex as the unfamiliar is threatening.

Just look at a person's face during one of these moments and you can see that something positive is happening - though scientists aren't exactly sure what it is yet. "There isn't conclusive evidence, [but] I think it's reasonable to conclude that the brain has some kind of reward mechanism related to insight," says Schwartz.

Brain scans show a tremendous amount of activity during moments of insight, with the brain busy building many new and complex connections. The insights don't have to be life-changing to have a pleasurable effect, either. "The simple insight of figuring out the answer to 12 across in the crossword puzzle is enough to give a little feeling of positive reinforcement," says Schwartz.

But because our brains are so complex and so individual, generating epiphanies in many people in a systematic way is difficult. Patience is critical, says Rock. "You have to paint a broad picture of change and resist the urge to fill in all the gaps for people," he says. "They have to fill them in on their own. If you get too detailed, it prevents people from making the connections on their own."