Edition #20: The Hidden Factors That Decide Whether Training Works

When it comes to increasing capability, many organisations take this familiar route:

Identify the missing skills → Train the skills → Expect behaviour to follow.

It feels logical. It looks concise on a slide. It even sounds strategic when you say it out loud. But it is built on one assumption: that knowledge naturally becomes action.

If only. If knowledge turned straight into behaviour, everyone would be having flawless coaching conversations, planning 90 days ahead, and leading their teams with Jedi-like calm. Instead, most people attend a workshop, feel energised for a week, then drift straight back to the familiar. This is not laziness. It is human behaviour, demonstrated here with the ‘Forgetting Curve’ by Ebbinghaus, which shows unless quickly reinforced, our memory decays.

Cue the COM-B model. A model that gives us the clarity most organisations are missing.

Why training alone falls flat

Training is often treated as the solution. In reality, it is only a small part of the system that drives behaviour. The COM-B model states that behaviour happens when three forces align: Capability. Opportunity. Motivation. If even one is missing, nothing changes. Learners simply revert to what feels easier, faster, and safer.

Most organisations invest almost everything into one of these three: Capability. Skills training. Workshops. Toolkits. Frameworks. Useful, yes. Sufficient, no.

The COM-B model in real-world leadership development

1. Capability
This is the part organisations know how to deliver. Skills. Knowledge. Tools. Language. It matters. It sets the foundation. But capability alone does not change what people do. It only changes what people know. There is a difference.

2. Opportunity
This is the most overlooked driver of behaviour. Opportunity means having the environment and space to use the skill. Time. Psychological safety. Supportive systems. Role modelling. Clear expectations.

If the culture rewards speed over reflection, leaders will stop coaching. If diaries are overloaded, they will push development to the side. If senior leaders do not model the behaviour, no one else will adopt it. Opportunity is the space that allows new habits to breathe, grow and actually stick.

3. Motivation
Training assumes that motivation will magically appear. It rarely does. People change when the behaviour makes sense to them. When they see its impact. When it aligns with who they want to be as a leader. Identity drives consistency. Tasks do not. Motivation is strengthened when leaders feel progress, ownership, and confidence. This is why coaching, feedback loops, and real-world experimentation matter.

When Capability, Opportunity, and Motivation line up, behaviour becomes the natural outcome, not the uphill battle.

What effective development actually looks like

Once you understand COM-B, the real work becomes obvious. You build an ecosystem, not a workshop schedule.

• Use training to create capability — Short, practical, repeatable learning. Not information overload.
• Shape the environment to create opportunity — Meeting rhythms. Feedback loops. Senior leader modelling. The signals matter as much as the skills.
• Build motivation through coaching and identity — Small wins. Confidence. Personal relevance. Behaviour change becomes a choice, not a chore.

When all three work together, skills stop being something people remember and become something people use.

What this means for your organisation

If you want real behaviour change, you cannot buy it with a one day workshop. You design for it. You reinforce it. You make it the path of least resistance. Capability gives people the skill. Opportunity gives them the chance. Motivation gives them the drive. Together, they create a leadership culture where growth and performance are built in, not bolted on.

Five reflection prompts for your senior team

Bring these into your next leadership meeting:

• Which behaviours are we expecting but not enabling?
• Where are we relying on capability without shaping opportunity or motivation?
• What environmental barriers are stopping leaders using the skills they already have?
• How can we make the desired behaviours easier and more rewarding?
• What will we do weekly that signals we are serious about change?