What Team Habits Are You Fostering?
So it turns out, habits aren’t just for individuals. Organizations have habits too. Have you read The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg? The book has us thinking about how helpful team habits can be to create a culture of productivity, innovation and engagement.
What behaviors in your team are so automatic that you don’t even have to stop and think? You just do it. It’s part of your team’s identity. These patterns of thought or action are so ingrained in the culture, they become assumed.
Be careful, because like it or not, the habits are there. You want to make sure though, that they lead to success.
The wrong habits can lead to high turn-over, flat performance and stagnant growth.
So, what team habits will lead to success?
Welcome Mat
How does your team deal with new people joining the team? How about new initiatives within the organization? And what about the latest rebranding? Having team habits centered around being welcome to change will serve the team well. By being more open to new ideas and flexible in the face of market shifts, you’ll create an atmosphere of innovation. Plus, new team members will feel excited to join in when they are embraced as a welcome member of the team rather than feared outsider. They’ll also be eager to stay when their fresh ideas and input are valued.
Party Line
Is everyone on the same page on your team? Does everyone have reasonably equal access to information?
Open communication is mission critical to high performance and innovation.
And if this isn’t one of your team habits, it might be where you want to start. Whether it’s a weekly status update, a white board in the working space or another tool you find effective, make sure the WHOLE team knows what’s going on from day to day.
Duke it Out
We’ve written previously about the value of healthy conflict within teams. If you didn’t believe us then, try it on for size now.
Being open to disagreement actually encourages innovation and creative thinking, rather than hindering it.
Therefore, encouraging differing opinions allows team members to feel more comfortable in speaking their minds. Admittedly, this may be one of the more difficult team habits, but it’s a key to driving a forward thinking culture.
So, if these all seem like something you want to work on, just choose one for now and get going. You’ll be amazed to see the difference it makes! Share below: when will you start in building one of these habits within your organization?
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