Leadership without authority
Discover science-backed leadership strategies for L&D professionals that build influence without formal authority.
Have you ever rolled out something new for your team or students and watched it completely flop? You’re definitely not alone. Whether it’s a new project management system, a customer service protocol, or even a personal habit you’re trying to build, the gap between knowing and doing can feel incredibly frustrating.
Here’s what most people get wrong: they assume failure means resistance or laziness. The COM-B model for behavior change cites capability (C), opportunity (O), and motivation (M) as three key factors capable of changing behavior (B), and research shows that when any one of these elements is missing, the behavior simply doesn’t happen – no matter how badly someone wants to change.
This isn’t just academic theory. It’s a practical framework that’s transformed how successful businesses, educators, and individuals approach change. Let’s dive into why your great ideas might be falling flat and how to fix it.
Picture this: You spend weeks developing the perfect training program. Everyone attends, nods enthusiastically, and seems genuinely excited. Fast forward a month, and you’re back to square one. Sound familiar?
According to a survey published by Forbes in April of 2023, 59% of employees report having received no workplace training, but even when training does happen, implementation often fails. The problem isn’t the training itself – it’s what happens afterward.
The COM-B model, developed by behavior scientists and published in Implementation Science, reveals why this happens. Instead of looking at failure through the lens of individual shortcomings, it examines the system supporting (or sabotaging) the desired behavior.
Capability isn’t just about intelligence or skill – it’s about genuine, practical ability to perform the behavior easily and consistently.
Physical Capability includes:
Psychological Capability encompasses:
You know, that almost half of learners skip or don’t thoroughly listen to their mandated compliance training? Before you write this off as laziness, consider this – maybe they genuinely couldn’t process another complex system while juggling their existing workload.
I experienced this firsthand when introducing a new project management system to my team. Everyone nodded during training, but weeks later, most had reverted to their old methods. When I dug deeper, I discovered that many team members were struggling with basic navigation. They simply couldn’t remember the steps under pressure.
The solution isn’t more training – it’s smarter capability building:
If someone isn't adopting a new process, your first question shouldn't be "Why are they resisting?" but "Are they genuinely able to do this easily?"
Training success depends on what happens after the training – specifically, whether the environment supports applying new skills.
This means that even perfect training can fail if people don’t have the opportunity to use what they learned.
Physical Opportunity includes:
Social Opportunity encompasses:
Let me share a story that perfectly illustrates this. A friend who runs a small retail shop trained her team on a comprehensive customer follow-up process. The training was excellent, everyone understood the importance, and they were genuinely motivated to improve customer relationships.
But nothing happened.
When we analyzed the situation through the COM-B lens, the problem became obvious: there was no physical opportunity. During peak hours, staff were slammed with immediate customer needs. During slow periods, they were catching up on restocking and cleaning. The follow-up process – however valuable – had no dedicated time or space.
The solution was elegantly simple: create a dedicated 30-minute “follow-up window” during naturally quieter periods. Suddenly, the same team that “wouldn’t” do follow-ups was doing them consistently and effectively.
Ask yourself these crucial questions:
Most people think motivation is about wanting something badly enough. But behavior science reveals two distinct types that work very differently:
Reflective Motivation involves:
Automatic Motivation includes:
Research from University College London shows habit formation takes anywhere from 18 to 254 days, with an average of 66 days. That’s a long time to rely solely on conscious motivation!
This is why New Year’s resolutions fail and why telling people “just do it” rarely works long-term. Sustainable behavior change requires tapping into automatic motivation – making the behavior feel good, natural, and aligned with identity.
When I launched my online course last year, completion rates started at a disappointing 23% – which is actually around the industry average. But after restructuring to include community elements and progress celebrations, completion rates jumped to 68%.
What changed? Not the content quality or the logical reasons to complete the course. I redesigned the emotional experience. People felt connected to a community, celebrated small wins, and saw tangible progress. This triggered automatic motivation that sustained them through challenging moments.
Let me show you how all three elements come together with a real business transformation.
David, a small coffeeshop owner I worked with, wanted his team to consistently gather customer testimonials – something that would directly impact his marketing efforts. Despite everyone agreeing it was important and multiple team meetings emphasizing its value, after months of reminders and encouragement, they had collected just a handful of testimonials.
Sound familiar? Here’s how we systematically addressed each COM-B element:
The Problem: Staff felt awkward asking for feedback and didn’t know how to approach customers naturally.
The Solution: We created a simple three-question template and practiced it until everyone felt comfortable. But more importantly, we practiced handling different customer responses – the enthusiastic yes, the polite no, and everything in between.
The Problem: Timing was everything. Asking during the morning rush meant stressed customers and overwhelmed staff.
The Solution: We identified optimal moments – mid-morning and mid-afternoon when things slowed down and customers had time to enjoy their drinks. We also placed QR codes near the pickup counter, creating a physical prompt and making the process seamless.
The Problem: The team understood testimonials were important but didn’t feel emotionally connected to the process.
The Solution: We created a “Testimonial Wall” in the back office and celebrated each new addition. More powerfully, David started sharing stories about how specific testimonials led to new customers walking through the door.
Within six weeks, they collected more testimonials than in the previous six months combined. Research published in BMC Public Health indicates that interventions addressing all three COM-B elements can be significantly more effective than those targeting just one or two.
But the real transformation was cultural. Gathering feedback became a natural part of customer interactions, not a forced add-on that everyone dreaded.
Here's what I want you to take away: when a behavior isn't happening, don't blame the person - examine the system.
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