🔧 Struggling with Behavior Change in Your Team?

This week’s writing digest is a special one because the topic comes straight from the field. From you - leaders and professionals who are driving real change inside organizations.

On Friday, I hosted my first mastermind session with leaders. The number one challenge that surfaced? How to influence and change behaviors.

As we unpacked this together, it became clear: understanding behavioral change is core to building team coherency and leading as a Safe Challenger. That’s why I’m digging into this theme more deeply in my upcoming book, and I’m excited to share some of those insights with you today.

Let’s explore what it really takes to make change stick.

Week #4 Focus: Behavioral Change in Teams

Key definitions for this week:

• Team Behavioral Change: refers to the process by which a group collectively shifts its patterns of action: how members collaborate, communicate, and make decisions. Unlike individual behavior change, it is deeply influenced by shared norms, peer dynamics, psychological safety, and team-level motivation. It often requires a systemic approach that addresses both individual contributors and the environment they operate in.

• COM-B Model: a behavior change framework that identifies 3 essential conditions for any behavior to occur: Capability, Opportunity, and Motivation. Developed by Susan Michie and colleagues, it serves as a diagnostic tool and intervention guide, helping leaders and practitioners pinpoint what’s missing when a desired behavior is not taking place, whether it’s a skill gap (Capability), an environmental barrier (Opportunity), or a lack of drive (Motivation).

Why I am studying these concepts for my book:

As a leadership practitioner and consultant, I’ve spent over a decade helping teams become more inclusive, innovative, and high-performing. But one recurring question leaders ask is: “I know what good looks like, so why aren't people behaving that way?”

Understanding the mechanics of behavior change and applying them to teams is essential if we want to move from awareness to action. I’m using COM-B and team behavioral change to offer leaders a practical, science-based roadmap for transforming team culture.

Especially in the context of psychological safety, collaboration, and inclusive leadership, these frameworks help uncover why good intentions often fall flat and how to turn them into sustainable habits at scale.

Example: Making Psychological Safety a Team Norm

Let’s say a team wants to create a culture of speaking up. Using COM-B:

• Capability: Do team members have the communication skills to voice concerns respectfully? Have they been trained in giving and receiving feedback?

  
  

• Opportunity: Does the environment encourage input? Does the leader model openness and set norms where mistakes are discussed without blame?

  
  

• Motivation: Do team members believe that speaking up makes a difference? Have they seen their input acted on?

  
  

By mapping each factor, the leader can design targeted interventions rather than relying on generic “speak up” encouragements.

Research Evidence:

• ​Michie’s foundational research introduced the COM-B model as part of the Behaviour Change Wheel and showed that sustainable behavior change requires addressing all three conditions: Capability, Opportunity, and Motivation. Teams and individuals are more likely to change behavior when interventions target more than just knowledge or motivation alone.

  
  

• ​Ojo et al. (2019) applied the COM-B model and Behaviour Change Wheel (BCW) to develop an intervention aimed at reducing prolonged sitting among office workers. The resulting intervention incorporated 39 behaviour change techniques (BCTs) targeting capability, opportunity, and motivation, demonstrating the model's utility in designing effective workplace health interventions.

  
  

• ​Case study: application of COM-B in Logistics Company. A logistics company faced challenges in increasing safety check compliance among drivers. Traditional training methods (Capability) were insufficient. MindGym applied the COM-B model to identify barriers in Motivation (drivers doubted that reported faults would be addressed) and Opportunity (workflow constraints). By addressing these factors, the company saw adoption rates rise from under 10% to over 80% in three months.

Practice It with Me: COM-B Framework for Team Leaders

This week, I’ve prepared a practical toolkit to help you apply the COM-B framework directly in your team context.

Whether you're trying to spark more collaboration, build psychological safety, or change everyday habits, this model gives you a simple but evidence-based way to diagnose what's really getting in the way.

If you'd like to receive your free copy, write me "Toolkit" to hej@susannaromantsova.com