── ── Mental model
Neurological Levels
Robert Dilts' Neurological Levels maps how change propagates through a 6-level hierarchy (grounded in Bateson 1972): change at a HIGHER level cascades down automatically; change at a LOWER level reverts under pressure.
How it works
Gate: Multiple L2 interventions attempted and reverted. First attempt → try L2–3 first.
1. State precisely: observable symptom, changes tried, number of reversions. 2. Level diagnostic: L1 — environment the constraint? L2 — knows what to do but still doesn't? L3 — lacks skill/strategy? L4 — believes change is right/possible? L5 — change conflicts with self-concept? L6 — aligns with larger purpose? 3. Identify intervention level: lowest level with persistent resistance despite lower-level work. 4. Design at that level: L4 → surface belief, find contradicting evidence, reframe values. L5 → identity narrative, role models, graduated exposure. 5. Check cascade: lower-level symptoms resolve without direct attention → diagnosis correct.
Stop-rule: 3+ L2 interventions failed → diagnose at L4–5 before any further L2 work.
When to use it
- 'we keep trying to change this and it reverts,' 'people know what to do but don't do it,' 'the training didn't stick,' someone hits a knowing-doing gap repeatedly, or a culture change effort has failed more than once
When not to use it
first attempt at change (try L2–3 first); person is in acute crisis needing stabilization.
Worked example
Lincoln's Emancipation Strategy (1858–1865)
Abraham Lincoln's abolition strategy demonstrates the Neurological Levels model applied at the largest possible scale. Previous attempts to resolve slavery operated at Level 2 (behavioral compromise: Missouri Compromise 1820, Compromise of 1850) and Level 3 (legal capability: Fugitive Slave Act enforcement debates). All had failed to produce stable change because the problem lived at Level 4–5.
Install this skill (free, MIT)
npx skills add deciqAI/knowledge-skills