Whisper Courses

This reminds me of something our leadership-development team launched last year with behavioral nudging. We created what we call “whisper courses,” which were based on the premise that, as leaders, we have the best intentions yet get so busy and forget to do the many little things that matter so much. I recall us talking about how nice it would be to have this invisible “helper” who sat on our shoulder and whispered to us little reminders throughout the day, like, “Psssst . . . did you thank Bill?” or, “Pssst . . . did you remember to compliment Ann on her presentation yesterday?” To bring it to life, we simply used automatic emails as the helper. A leader can sign up in our learning-management system for a six-week series of nudges. On a Monday, you get a prompt related to the nudge series you signed up for—for example, recognition or coaching. That Friday, you get an email asking if you did it and to reflect on how it went. It influences behavior on a very granular level.

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