Our house does not have a large kitchen nor does it open to any other room in the house. It is missing comfy chairs and space to create a hangout for the family. Huh? This is relevant because...?

I have been thinking a lot lately about how space shapes our interactions. I have been doing some team coaching for a wonderful new organizational client, the IEEE. After several visits, I finally had an opportunity to see the space in which the team I am coaching works. Each person has a cubicle. When you sit in these cubicles you can’t see anyone else. They often call things out to each other but can’t see facial expressions. It is hard to assess someone’s state of mind. The cubicles open up to a common aisle. If they want to meet, they need to stand in the aisle and then of course other people hear them and are understandably a little irritated. Our coaching has explored ways to improve their working relationships in a high pressured and fast changing environment. They have made great strides. And yet, imagine the impact of taking the walls away from the cubicles so they were facing each other across a desk? Or having a common meeting space?

Some organizations have gotten very smart about this.

At the same time I have been reading (and rereading) SWITCH: How to change things when change is hard by Chip Heath and Dan Heath. In their deceptively simple 3 part model their final strategy is to “Shape the Path.” They explain that too often we see a problem and think that people are at fault. For example, they tell a story of a manufacturing company where fires broke out frequently. The President thought workers were not adhering to safety criteria. Guess what? They were using too many flammable products. Changing out the products reduced the fires.

I find this an incredibly important lesson to dwell on. Too many times I hear leaders, managers and even teachers say, “Well I have told them over and over again, and they are still not doing it! What is wrong with them?” We can think people are being defiant or stubborn or obtuse. But those thoughts do not lead to the change we seek. And small changes to your environment can have surprising results.

A manager at Nike who had an open-door policy, was shocked to learn from an employee feedback survey that people felt she had no time for them. They noted she often continued to look at or type on her computer when they were talking. Her solution? She moved her desk and computer and added informal seating so her screen was out of view when people came in to talk. 6 months later, feedback scores on communication had rebounded.

So it is time for you to shape the path for change; Order SWITCH for your summer reading!