E59: Christina Harbridge: Behavioral Leverage: How to Convert Conflict into Conversation

ThriveMore with Roger Martin: Business, Health, & Wealth

There’s a humorous scene in the popular HBO Fantasy Game of Thrones in which the actor Joseph Mawle who portrays Benjen Stark, a hardened member of a legion of outcasts known as The Night's Watch confronts Peter Dinklage's character Tyrion Lannaister after the wealthy Lord tries to convince Benjen of his solidarity with their cause. After a long speech by Tyrion praising the courage of The Watch, Benjen interjects saying, “My brother once told me nothing someone says before the word but really matters.” This simple saying contains a deeper well of human behavior and the irrational way that we communicate poorly by falsely extolling people's virtues before dropping that but… which then reveals our true intentions.

Our guest today has made it her life's mission to untangle the nuanced behaviors and irrational ways that leaders communicate with their teams. Christina Harbridge is the founder of Allegory Inc., a corporation that goes beyond the scope of a typical communication company by assisting coaches, teams, and organizations in utilizing behavioral leverage to comprehend and implement human biochemistry when interacting with irrational individuals – a trait that is inherent in all of us. Christina specializes in assisting large organizations in crafting systems that effectively instill and maintain desired behaviors among individuals. Renowned for her dynamic speaking style and captivating storytelling, Christina engages audiences actively, encouraging participation over passive note-taking. Her approach to storytelling is methodical, emphasizing the importance of audience engagement rather than solely focusing on the storyteller. This nuanced perspective is often overlooked but proves crucial in effective communication.

Christina’s most recent book, Swayed: How to Communicate for Impact, covers some of these storytelling methods and hit #1 in the Conflict category on Amazon.

Christina's unique background, spanning debt collection and participation as a NASA test subject, informs her approach to positively influencing human behavior. In this episode, she emphasizes the importance of physiological responses over traditional IQ and EQ metrics, offering practical advice for leaders to improve relationships and outcomes within their organizations. Topics covered include behavior-driving systems, the pitfalls of over-promising, and the potential for transformation through authenticity and confronting discomfort in leadership. A must-listen for leaders struggling with team communication and the demands of modern hustle culture!

Topics Include:

• Understanding the Concept of Daming Omissions and Afference
• Unpacking the Idea and Implementation of Behavioral Leverage
• Why Conflict Is the Most Powerful Way to Enroll People In a Vision
• Why Frustration is Often a Sign of an Employee’s Innate Talent
• Examples of the Futility of Teaching Your Teams the Way You Learn

Christina’s Book Recommendation: Rest Is Resistance: A Manifesto

Connect with Christina:

Website

Allegory inc.

Books

LinkedIn

Instagram

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Produced By: Social Chameleon