I was struck last month by a fine article by Mary Oliver in the
inspiring online resource Brainpickings
on the value of habits. It resonated because I had found myself only the day before encouraging a team with whom I was working to extend their perspective on what
constitutes a habit.
What do you think of when you hear the word habit? Is it
something like smoking, drinking, overeating, or some other easily recognisable
activity? This is quite a common response.
However, in organisations and indeed elsewhere, it’s useful to remember
that we create habits all of the time – the habit of talking about someone instead of to them, the habit of going home a bit
late, the habit of procrastination, the habit of moaning – whatever it’s going
to be. Habits form a key part of the
working environment and culture.
We hear lots of mythology on habits – how long it takes to make
one, how long it takes to break one, and so on. I am not keen on the rigidity
of these claims of `how long’ as in my experience, a habit can be made or
broken in many different ways and time frames. It seems to me that there are
three stages to habit breaking or creation, when it comes to workplace culture
change – and each of those stages might have all kinds of nuances or aspects.
However, in essence, to either break or create habits, we need to do the
following.
- Recognition – take a workplace habits inventory. How do we do this? Well, begin to notice. Habits reveal
themselves in language, practice and custom. `I always have to have a
coffee before I can think properly’.
Notice how you and others behave in meetings, how people react
after meetings (the uncensored conversation in the rest rooms, over
lunch). Notice what the cultural
habit of meeting and greeting is – the CEO ignores the team, the CEO is
`in the habit’ of making sure they say hello whenever possible. What is
the expected time input habit?
Habits are what shape a culture, either into a healthy thriving
culture (Herzberg, 1959) or into a culture with a heavy shadow side (Egan,
1994). With whatever tweaks, we see well established evidence through time
and place which indicates key factors for creating and sustaining winning
cultures.
- Evaluate – how do these
habits impact the working culture?
This is a question of adding up the pros and cons. If outspace
conversations mean that no one is going to speak openly in meetings, then
they are a poor habit. If they are
a sounding board for creativity for what might be said next time, they are
useful. And so on. So, what are the costs and consequences of workplace
habits?
- Create new habits. One of the tenets by which we work is
not to take away anyting that has served a purpose until we have something
better to replace it with. So we
need now to discover what habits might create more accomplishment. This is where Mary
Oliver’s viewpoint helps.
Habits can give structure, and in new culture creation, this can be
more than useful. A manager I know in the third sector has overcome the
paper trail challenge faced by many who regard themselves as people
workers first and foremost. He has changed his personal conceptualisation
and concrete application so that the paperwork is integrated into the
client encounter, and if it can’t be done immediately, it is diaried in
such a way that any client centred task is not ready to tick off until all
paperwork is complete. This is different from when he used to leave it
`till later’. He has changed his
habit, to create better outcomes, less cost, more positive consequences.
Sound easy, doesn’t it, and in essence it is. Where the challenge sometimes exists is in the
will, the skills and the capabilities to create transformational habits, and
this is where sometimes individuals, teams and organisations might need a
little help. Equally, you might be
surprised at how easily change can come about.
My current habit change is in the area of multi tasking – or
not! I will be reviewing this personal
challenge in the near future!
