How to Coach Yourself and Others Influencing, Inter Personal and Leadership Skills | Page 59

8. Steps to behavior change:
5.
4.
3.
2.
1.

Advocacy
Practice
Intention
Approval
Knowledge
Behavior change is a
slow process by which
individual’s progress
through several stages.
However, these are not
stages of a linear process
which individuals must
go through when
changing their behavior.
Some individuals may
experience all five stages
but not necessarily in the
same order.
At times people change
their behavior because of
social pressure or the
desire to conform to
social norms, not
because they have
personally been
convinced that it is the
right thing to do.

After a period of
practicing the new
behavior, they may
become convinced of its advantages and sustain the behavior. This encourages them to
approve of the new behavior and to continue practicing it.
It is also important to note that the steps of changing behavior are not linear; they can
occur rapidly or take a long time. They do not follow any pattern. The behavior can go
from knowledge to practice and then regress; or they indeed go from knowledge to
approval, intention, and practice. It all depends on the individuals.