3 Ways You Might Be Holding Back Your Team's Performance
This article originally appeared on the Habits at Work blog.
Whether managers like it or not, they set the tone for how their teams work.
They are the gatekeepers to creating high performance.
The problem is, managers are in a complicated position with pressures and stakeholders coming from all angles.
They manage:
up to leadership
across their organization
external customer expectations
within their team
inside themselves (their ways of thinking and being)
And this list does not even include the expectations from their personal relationships, including friends, family and community.
Adding to the pressure, we know that one of the top reasons why employees leave their companies is due to having a bad manager. In fact, 1 out of 2 people currently on the market for a new job left for this very reason.
And, at least 70% of the variance in employee engagement scores can be attributed to poor management. Gallup goes so far as to say that only 1 in 10 managers actually have the talent for it.
Combine the fact that technology, business, the workplace and career roles are constantly shifting and evolving, with a lack of useful, actionable learning and development programs, and you've got a perfect storm: ill-equipped managers leading under performing, disengaged teams.
To put this problem into context, "bad" managers cost the U.S. economy an estimated $398 billion annually (via Gallup). Imagine the impact worldwide!
But without solving the complex, underlying organizational issues, how can managers improve the performance of their teams?
If you happen to be a manager, here are three ways you might be holding back your team without realizing it...and some ideas on how to improve performance.
3 Ways You Might Be Holding Back Your Team's Performance
1. You're a work martyr
Whether you're aware or not, your habits become the model for your team.
If you're stressed and overwhelmed, it's likely that this feeling will rub off.
If you're constantly running late, not getting enough sleep, frequently working late, chained to your desk, on your phone during meetings, skipping lunch, not taking your vacation, quick to emotionally react, have no friends at work...then it is likely that your team members will engage in similar behaviors.
If you sacrifice your own wellbeing, fulfillment and relationships, then it is likely that your teammates will follow your lead. They'll sacrifice self-care, seemingly in service to their work.
The problem is, this approach is unsustainable. The things we sacrifice in service of our work are, ironically, the very things that fuel performance: our health, happiness and security.
Suggestion: Be a model for self-care and positive habits as a means to improve your relationships and boost your cognitive function, decision making, stamina, will-power and performance.
Make your self-care conspicuous and encourage your team to do the same. In fact, invite them to do it with you!
2. You lack self-awareness
Creativity and speed require a sense of safety, trust and understanding. Teams waste a lot of time when people do not feel that they fully understand each other, or that they are not being heard.
When teams lack this understanding, it reduces clarity and alignment, limits creative confidence and ability to solve problems, reduces experimentation and risk taking, slows speed, entrenches the status quo, inhibits communication and accountability, and decreases overall performance.
Some poor, but pervasive practices to avoid include: information hoarding, exclusionary behavior, lack of communication and not providing clear expectations.
Suggestion: Improve your own self-awareness and give your team the tools to do the same. At Habits at Work, we use the Enneagram as a tool for understanding our default behavior patterns.
Being able to understand your own emotions and behaviors can help when relating to your team. You will be better prepared to avoid miscommunication and misjudgment of the behaviors and intentions of others.
For example, you might perceive a response as angry or snarky, when someone is simply being direct. Or, you might assume a team member is disengaged during meetings when they are actually being reflective and wish to have more time before forming their opinions.
With this clearer view, you are able to consider what you and your team need to do your best work, collectively and individually.
3. You don't connect your team's work to your organization's purpose
Clarity and alignment are critical elements for team performance. Everyone must be clear about how their work ladders up to the bigger organizational vision.
Additionally, each individual should have a clear agreement with their peers and manager on their role in achieving this collective vision. Clearly and consistently communicating the purpose and goals of the team is crucial for success and accountability.
Suggestion: Reflect on your team's goals for the year -- if they're unclear, make some time to set them with the team's input. Have conversations around WHY these goals are important for both your team and for your organization.
An easy way to integrate purpose into your workflow is to add a spot for your team's goals directly into your meeting agenda template. Begin every meeting by stating your organization's purpose and how your team's goals will help you achieve this purpose. Bonus points if you connect the purpose for that specific meeting to your team's larger goals. You should be able to connect everything you do as a team, including the meetings you hold, to your organization's goals.
Even if your organization's vision or purpose is unclear or uninspiring, you can create a meaning-fueled work environment for your team. Connect with each individual to better understand their personal life and career goals. Then, help them create a plan for connecting their individual work to the team's work. When opportunities arise, give your people chances to achieve their personal goals by meaningfully contributing through their work.
If you are a manager, think about how you can positively impact the performance of your team by:
prioritizing and being a visible model for self-care
improving your self-awareness and providing your team the tools to do the same
making your team's work meaningful by connecting it to your organization's goals
Is your corporate hero stressed out and overwhelmed?
This article originally appeared on the Habits at Work blog.
The collective habits of your employees shape the culture of your organization. If your corporate hero archetype reflects the status quo, then it's likely that your most successful employees are stressed out and overwhelmed. I wrote this post to help you reflect on your current vs. desired corporate hero archetypes.
What is the Traditional Corporate Hero Archetype?
Car company Cadillac aired a commercial during the Academy Awards featuring a monologue about the “American Dream.” An actor made to look like a successful and wealthy corporate executive extols the virtues of “hard work, American style”—elevating those persons who have worked themselves into the ground and have taken as little time off as possible. The ad says, “Americans work hard because that’s what they love to do.”
And it’s not only Americans that suffer from this perception of the corporate hero -- employees all over the world feel the tension of this work/life struggle.
This commercial has received an untold amount of backlash, yet one is left wondering if this idea of the successful executive or corporate “hero” is, in fact, in alignment with perceptions of the typical workforce that working harder (instead of smarter) and time management (not energy management) is what leads to success.
The traditional corporate “hero” is no stranger to stress.
Overloading with work, taking on more than one person can handle, coming in early and staying late, all while ignoring your personal needs in favor for what is best for the company—these are the characteristics of the traditional corporate hero, a person who exists in the minds and imaginations of workers around the world.
Yet, all the resulting stress and hours spent working to become this type of hero leads to disengagement and ineffective performance at work, as well as poor levels of health and wellbeing.
How can the conventional corporate “hero” archetype be rewritten when employees—either consciously or subconsciously—still believe that the traditional archetype is what is required for career success?
This perceived social barrier could be overcome with a simple redesign of what it means to be in service to an organization’s greater purpose, and to be personally successful.
Reimagine + redefine what it means to be a corporate “hero.”
Inherited Mindsets + Behaviors: The Status Quo
First thing's first. Take some time to reflect on the status quo -- what are the attributes, mindsets and behaviors that your current (real or perceived) corporate hero embodies?
Think about what it takes to get ahead at your company – what sacrifices do your people make in service to their work?
Do they miss time with family and friends?
Are they on the road a lot?
Do they sacrifice personal relationships?
Are they stressed about finances?
What is getting in the way of their health, happiness and security?
Take a moment to reflect on which of the behaviors your employees practice that get in the way of their wellbeing.
Write them down.
A New Corporate Hero Archetype
Now think about what it means to thrive in your organization.
Reimagine a new type of corporate hero –- one that practices the positive habits of health, happiness and security in service to contributing to your organization’s success.
It can be helpful to start from your own perspective when considering what it means to thrive in your organization.
What do you need to thrive at work (and in life)?
It could be time and space for critical thinking, appreciation or recognition from peers, ability to work flexible hours, trust and open communication, continued learning and growth, permission and encouragement to engage in physical activities and self-care, purposeful work, helping others, safety, etc.
Which positive behaviors could this new corporate hero model for others?
Write them down.
I hope you found this exercise helpful in considering your current and desired corporate hero archetype. If you enjoyed reading this, please consider sharing it with your network so others can discover it too!
Also, feel free to reach out directly if you'd like to discuss how to shift this model within your organization: bree@habitsatwork.com
This post is part of a series exploring the archetypical successful employee: the corporate hero. This archetype, whether real or perceived, heavily influences the behaviors of today’s workforce. In this series, we will push against our limiting beliefs of what it means to be an employee, how to break away from the status quo and rid ourselves of inherited behaviors that no longer serve us, what allows us to thrive at work and in life, and how to design the conditions of the workplace in support of a new type of corporate hero.
Imagine a new model for employee success and performance
This post originally appeared as part of a series from Habits at Work exploring the archetypical successful employee: the corporate hero. This archetype, whether real or perceived, heavily influences the behaviors of today’s workforce. In this series, we will push against our limiting beliefs of what it means to be an employee, how to break away from the status quo and rid ourselves of inherited behaviors that no longer serve us, what allows us to thrive at work and in life, and how to design the conditions of the workplace in support of a new type of corporate hero.
Whether we’d like to admit it or not, we live in a society where our success, on an individual and collective level, is determined by the amount of money, power and status we amass.
Because of this, the models for success within our organizations are the people who sacrifice themselves, their time, their relationships, their health and their happiness in service to their company.
This “company man” is the shining symbol of success within our Capitalist society – the person that arrives first and leaves last, the person chained to their desk, the person running from meeting to meeting unable to catch a breath, the person who never takes their vacation.
Our inherited, outdated expectations and biases no longer serve us or the companies we work for.
As we move away from Industrial Age work and ways of organizing, we must also move away from an Industrial Age mindset of what work is and what it means to be a successful employee.
For the last century, two factors have largely been responsible for generating individual success (money, status and power):
Productivity: make as many widgets as possible within a period of time. Simply work hard, put your nose to the grindstone, buckle down, bootstrap, make it work and get shit done. Do more with fewer resources in zero time.
Talent: using your God-given gifts to get ahead in life. According to this worldview, you were either born with a skill or ability or you weren’t. Fundamentally, one’s talent or ability to do something cannot be grown or changed.
Productivity and talent. Are these factors still the largest drivers of an individual’s success in a knowledge economy? Sure, they play a role, but are they still the primary force for success? I don’t think so.
Knowledge-based work requires that we have the time and space to be calm. To think critically. To collaborate. To experiment. To be mindful. To be creative. To focus. To ponder. To be aware of ourselves. To continuously learn and grow.
If this is the case, then how do we measure productivity when we no longer make physical widgets, and thinking becomes our product?
And, with a society that changes at breakneck pace, demanding that individuals constantly learn and grow their minds and abilities to stay afloat, how can we measure talent?
If productivity and talent take a back seat for creating employee success, then which factors are in the driver’s seat?
Haunted by the corporate heroes of the Industrial Age, we have sacrificed our most basic human needs to be productive workers.
When asked what we most desire in life, for ourselves and our children, peoples’ answers overwhelmingly fall into three categories:
To be well
To be fulfilled
To be safe
Without health, happiness and security, how can we be expected to grow as individuals and make our highest contribution to our companies and the world?
Can we replace our current model of success (money, status and power) with a new model that prioritizes health, happiness and security?
The simple answer is yes.
The execution is much more complex. And yet, companies have an enormous opportunity to shape the minds and lives of their people.
My challenge to you comes in the form of this question: How might we redesign the conditions of our organization to create a new definition around success for our people rooted in health, happiness and security?
A big challenge, but one I believe you are capable of undertaking.
If you don’t know where to begin, look to each of the Four Contexts:
Systems Context – implicit and explicit rules, policies, procedures, processes, platforms, organizational norms
Spaces Context – design of the physical environment and how communication is used within this environment
Social Context – networks and groups, teams, support systems, mentors and coaches, friends and family, and social norms
Self Context – meaning and stories about the world, confidence and capability, autonomy and control, level of awareness and self-actualization
Reimagine your organization and culture through these Four Contexts while continuously asking, “will this generate health, happiness and security for our people?”
P.S. If you enjoyed reading, please share this piece so others can find it too. Thanks! You can also reach out directly: bree@habitsatwork.com
Strategic rest, renewal and restoration.
Article originally published on the Habits at Work blog.
The traditional corporate “hero” is no stranger to stress.
Overloading with work, taking on more than one person can handle, coming in early and staying late, all while ignoring your personal needs in favor of what is best for the company—these are the characteristics of the traditional corporate hero, a person who exists in the minds and imaginations of workers around the world.
Yet, all of the resulting stress and hours spent working to become this type of hero leads to disengagement and ineffective performance at work, as well as poor levels of health and well-being.
How can the conventional corporate “hero” archetype be rewritten in order to encourage healthy behaviors and well-being when employees—either consciously or subconsciously—still believe that the traditional archetype is what is required for career success?
Energy is the capacity people have to do work.
Like time, energy is finite. However, unlike time, energy is renewable.
Strategic renewal, including daytime workouts, short afternoon naps, longer sleep hours, more time away from the office and longer, more frequent vacations is shown to boost productivity, job performance and health.*
We asked our Habits at Work team members how they achieved rest, renewal and restoration over Labor Day weekend...
Debbi Brooks, Product
Date night with Mr. Brooks...Dinner with my daughter and her boyfriend...Finished a paper on the causes of multitasking (research is very relaxing for me)...Walked and rough housed with our dog Addie...Heard 7+ teenagers laugh and have a good time in my living room...Intentionally ignored work emails until Tuesday morning...Completed my weekly planning the morning of the first workday rather than on Sunday...
Amanda Beemer, Brand + Culture
Made time for people I care about; enjoyed their company without watching the clock...
Donna Sumner, Partnerships + Licensing
Watched South Paw with my husband and daughter on a 13" computer screen (will never do that again)...Spent Saturday with my sister who is getting married this month...Enjoyed a day with my family on the lake...
Thomas Bookman, Business Development
Had one-on-one days with my daughter Quincey...Road tripped to Spokane, WA where I am from...Spent time with family and friends...Had intimate discussions with a three year old about her future life plans...
Andrew Sykes, President + Chief Habit Starter
Enjoyed our first night out with my wife since our twin girls were born...Spent lots of quality park time with my son, Lex...
Jim Holtzman, Operations
Went to Milwaukee after a fairly short 11.5 mile run followed by a massage...Took my wife to the movies...Fixed some things that were long overdue around the house...
Sharlene Krantz, Consulting
Donated to the community food bank after hearing a great sermon about showing love to others...Finished boring household chores and yard work...
Caryn Tomasiewicz, Operations
Watched a lot of Antiques Roadshow UK...Became obsessed with home updates and spent 2 hours scouring Etsy for 1920s-30s flush mount ceiling lighting fixtures (Bought two. Very, VERY excited)...Painted the inside of the closet in Colin’s room and stained the wood trim...Took 2 private Pilates lessons...Watched a bunch of wonderfully random movies on Turner Movie Channel...Went for a long walk along the lakefront...
Carolyn Bilson, Partnerships + Consulting
Practiced being in the present moment with family, friends and my dog, Roscoe...
Kathy Vance, Partnerships + Business Development
Hiked in the woods...Basked in the sun...Worked on my flower beds...Enjoyed our 107 acres in West Virginia with the love of my life...
Is strategic renewal encouraged at your workplace?
*Source: BRATLAB research
This train is leaving the station. Are you on it?
It has been my experience that when you show you’re committed to giving birth to an idea, then people come out of the woodwork to help you.
People can tell the difference between:
you having an idea
you committing to make something happen with that idea
Talking and taking action are very different things.
Nothing wrong with telling your story, fleshing out and evolving your idea and getting feedback. However, for some (most?) people, that is the only step they take. They never take the ACTION, never make a commitment, take a risk or put a stake in the ground.
And people can tell.
It has been my experience that when you show you’re committed to giving birth to an idea, then people come out of the woodwork to help you.
Take Kindred Labs as an example. The idea for a collaborative coworking and community space focused on discourse and ideation was my original concept for the business. Only in telling my story, discussing ideas and getting feedback did I begin moving toward the model we have in place today.
When I started looking for a physical location for the coworking space I did my research, I walked neighborhoods, I talked to strangers, I looked into loan options, and I even visited several spaces “for lease” and chatted with brokers and building owners.
I was doing more than talking about my idea — I was taking the steps toward making my idea happen.
Now, obviously, my idea evolved.
This happened as a result of the conversations and experiences I had during my period of ACTION. For example, I found that many building owners wanted me to sign a terribly long lease term, pay an inordinate amount in the form of a deposit, sign over my first born child, and many other things in order to get a space.
Well, obviously that did not work out for Kindred Labs. Since I wasn’t focused on the idea of making the “coworking real estate play” that many others were doing, my idea had to evolve in order to remain viable.
Skipping over what happened between then and now, I came to the model we are currently running: a small team of problem solvers that bring clarity and a thing we call RUTHLESS SIMPLICITY to brands and businesses. We team up with creative independents to help companies clarify their purpose and then translate that into every facet of their organization.
Really, it’s a combination of business design + branding. What’s different about what we’re doing is the way we’re working with the independents and the companies — we are bringing them together to work in an extremely collaborative and mostly lean manner, all headquartered at the Kindred Labs office.
So, you see, it is still a coworking space of sorts. It’s just not open to the public.
OK, so what does this have to do with putting a stake in the ground? It seems like I’m all over the place here, right? Well, in my opinion I’m not.
The point is, I could have spent an eternity simply talking about my idea and sharing it with others.
I know, though, that ideas are worthless without amazing execution. I never stopped talking about my idea. In fact, I’m talking about it right here, right now.
What matters is that I chose a point to begin making my idea come to life. I put a stake in the ground when I signed a lease for a small office space in Ravenswood.
And then people began coming out of the woodwork to help me.
They made daylong trips to IKEA. They lugged boxes. They fed me! They helped build the furniture and arrange the office. They cleaned. They offered their expertise.
They even sent me work.
The Kindred Labs office opened in October 2014. During the first two weeks of having the space, my comrades and I set up the entire office and my client roster went from 1 to 5.
Even though I had been working as an independent since February, I did not receive this amount of support until I stated my intentions and took steps toward realizing them.
My lesson today? It’s not to quit talking about your ideas. Please, please KEEP talking about them.
The lesson is to also MOVE FORWARD on your ideas. TAKE ACTION.
Sometimes we don’t know if something is right or not. And the only way to know is to pursue it until it no longer makes sense.