How to Drive Behavioural Change Like a Master Trainer - Murray Cowell

Super Powered: Leadership, Strategy, Decision Making & Peak Performance - Stories & Strategies from World-Class Performers for Executive Success

Ever wondered why some training creates lasting change while most is forgotten by the next day?

Murray Cowell has spent 27 years discovering it's not about inspiring speeches or clever techniques - it's about creating the right environment for people to succeed.

With experience training over 18,000 professionals across 35 countries, Murray has turned his counterintuitive approach into multiple seven-figure training businesses. As Solutions Director at Natural Training and through his own consultancy, he's proven that real change happens through systems, not sessions.

Yet Murray's journey began as a self-proclaimed "underachiever" who believed adults couldn't learn effectively. His transformation into a lifelong learner shapes his unique approach to helping others grow.

Key Talking Points:

• The "three-legged stool" approach that makes training stick: tools, metrics, and management involvement
• Why one-off workshops lead to performance spikes that quickly fade without proper support
• How adopting a "we're all slightly incompetent" mindset creates psychological safety for real learning
• The counterintuitive way to drive change in large organisations: finding allies with overlapping problems
• Managing resistance by letting people "dump negativity" before focusing on solutions

Links & Resources:

• Murray’s LinkedIn
• Murray’s Website

Book Recommendations:

• Switch by Chip & Dan Heath
• Nudge by Richard Thaler
• Misbehaving by Richard Thaler

Podcasts:

• The Science of Success
• Clearer Thinking with Spencer Greenberg

Today's Exercise: The Problem Creation Reflection

This daily practice helps you identify your role in challenges you face, shifting from external blame to productive problem-solving. It builds self-awareness and reveals opportunities for personal growth.

Steps to Apply:

1. Write down a current problem or challenge you're facing
2. Ask yourself: "How am I involved in creating this problem?"
3. Identify specific behaviours or attitudes that may contribute
4. Consider what the situation is teaching you about yourself
5. List 2-3 ways you could change your approach
6. Commit to implementing one change this week