MONEY MATTERS
CONTINUED
forces stop those behaviors. Then, it’s simple math: to
change your behavior, you must either increase the vol-
ume or intensity of the pro-change forces, or eliminate or
reduce the volume of the emotional anti-change forces.
For example: commission is a force for change, but is it
currently strong enough to drive change as-structured?
Does it reinforce the right behaviors? Look at your data
and interview a representative spread of your team to de-
termine if it is facilitating and reinforcing positive, upsel-
ling behaviors.
An example of a force against change could be an in-
formal culture that sends the message to your team that
recommending, or upselling, can “make the rest of the
team look bad.” While correcting this sort of anti-change
force can be challenging, coaching can help. When you
coach a team member, you reduce the power and hold of
the informal culture by re-focusing them on their own
dreams and purpose. When the therapist imagines their
dreamed future, it can help eliminate resistance to rec-
ommending and spur them to become the person they
entered the industry to be.
Use the below format to visualize the future, and then
decide which actions are needed to take them from the
present to the visualized future. Obstacles are eliminated
and the therapist will operate at a higher level. The forces
model can be used to coach non-performing therapists,
under-performing therapists or therapists that have pla-
teaued in their recommending and upselling.
When the therapist
imagines their dreamed
future, it can help eliminate
resistance to recommending
and spur them to become
the person they entered the
industry to be.
To change the course of your ship, you must acknowl-
edge where you are right now and why you’re there. Fun-
damental cultural shifts must take place to create an
operating climate that nurtures upselling and rec-
ommending behavior. Informal cultures that pull against
enabling your therapists to be the marvelous healers that
they are must be actively managed. Through incredible
service and intelligent recommendations, your positive,
purposeful work will continue to change guests’ lives. n
DR. MICHELA HENKE-CILENTI is an experienced management and organizational development
consultant specializing in behaviors and change, particularly in regard to increasing engagement,
creating a culture of recommending and managing team dynamics. You can contact Michela at
michelahenkecilenti@gmail.com, or visit michelahenkecilenti.com.
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