DON’T fake it ’til you make it.
Posted on: Friday, December 30, 2016 Category: Blog (58)Uncategorized (59)
2 min read
In 1961, Albert Bandura conducted the now famous Bobo doll experiment. In the experiment, children saw an adult beat up a blow up bobo doll. They kicked it, threw it in the air and beat it with a mallet. Exposure to the aggressive behaviour caused children to imitate it, and even take it up a notch as they chose to add guns to the mix, even though this was not modelled. Psychologists believed that this proved that people will choose to act, imitating the models in their life.
It is believed that as children we pay attention to how models in our lives act, and then encode this behaviour. Models a can be anything from parents, television characters, friends, and teachers.
We will model another person’s behaviour depending on our perceived connection with them, their age, gender, reinforcement and punishment. This theory is at the heart of defined organisational behaviours – those that are awarded within the framework of the organisation. These are those that the organisation wants its employees to emulate or imitate.
Observed consequences are particularly important in shaping how we act. A younger sibling may avoid repeating a particular behaviour if they see their older sibling being punished for that behaviour. And the same goes within our professional environment.
So how does this fit into your personal brand? Understand the difference between identifying and imitating.
Identifying is about actually adopting behaviours, values, beliefs, and attitudes of others. Essentially, making these a real part of your brand. When you feel comfortable doing this, you know you are in the right culture.
Imitating is just copying – and you will get found out.
We all look for people to create a group identification. An understanding of what each individual stands for – and a sharing of the things that we have in common. A true and genuine connection creates the greatest impact.
