Hypothesize the Causes: SHIFT Stage 2

The Problem This Stage Solves

Once target behaviors are specified, the question becomes: why is this behavior not happening? Most organizations skip this diagnostic step entirely. They assume the barrier is awareness (so they communicate more), skill (so they train more), or motivation (so they incentivize or escalate). These assumptions lead to interventions that address the wrong barrier, which is the single most expensive mistake in organizational change.

The COM-B Diagnostic Framework

COM-B classifies behavioral barriers into three domains, each with sub-categories.

Capability: Psychological capability (knowledge, skills, memory and attention, behavioral regulation) and physical capability. In organizational settings: do they know how to do it? Can they do it quickly enough under real conditions?

Opportunity: Physical opportunity (time, resources, tools, environmental cues, system defaults) and social opportunity (cultural norms, peer behavior, interpersonal influences, role expectations). Does the environment make the behavior possible? Are peers doing it?

Motivation: Reflective motivation (conscious beliefs, plans, evaluations, intentions) and automatic motivation (emotions, habits, impulses, desires). This is where the Plan vs. Impulse dynamic operates. A person can have strong reflective motivation (they intend to change) and weak automatic motivation (the old habit is stronger at the moment of action).

The 14 Coded Barriers

The SHIFT methodology classifies organizational barriers into 14 specific codes (B1 through B14), each with a self-talk signal that reveals the barrier type, a COM-B classification, and a matched set of intervention strategies. This coding system turns subjective observations ("they seem resistant") into specific, actionable diagnoses.

For example, "I know I should but I keep forgetting" points to a memory and attention barrier (Capability). "I would do it but nobody else on my team is" points to a social opportunity barrier. "I have tried it but it takes too long" points to a physical opportunity barrier. Each diagnosis leads to a different intervention strategy.

Important: motivation is often over-diagnosed. When people say "they are not motivated," the actual barrier is frequently capability or opportunity. COM-B forces the diagnostician to rule out capability and opportunity before concluding that motivation is the primary barrier.