3 Ways to Clean Up Your Dirty Work Habits
Aug 11, 2024
I walk in and out of our home’s backdoor daily. Evidently, I don’t really look at it.
For no real reason, I noticed how dirty the glass was in this door. It was like I saw it for the first time, or the first time in a long time. We have a yellow Lab, Maggie Mae, who enjoys pressing her nose to the door every time someone comes in. Her “kisses” were all over it.
So I sprayed and wiped the window, then wondered, “Why hadn’t I noticed that before?”
Walking through that door is a habit. I was accustomed to seeing the smudges without really paying attention to them.
A habit is familiar. You assume you know how something looks or acts without really looking.
Take work, for instance.
You have certain work habits. They’re familiar. Based on your assumptions.
Most of them are about you.
And they’re strangling your chances to create a positive work culture that’s Work Positive.
Think about these familiar work habits. Ask yourself, “Is this some work dirt that could use a good cleaning?”
“We” instead of “Me”
When you talk about your company, what words do you use?
Do you focus on the company and what you do for it?
Or, is your conversation more about how the culture and people support you?
Do you hear, “me” or “we?”
It’s a familiar habit to extol the virtues of your work. You work hard and you’re proud of it. It’s a familiar door.
However, your work has value only as it benefits your team members, customers, and the company bottom line.
It’s not about you primarily. Yes, you’re important. However, if your “me” takes priority over “we” then you’re destined to change jobs often.
On the other hand, if your work is more “we” than “me,” your focus on teammates and customers is sustainable for decades.
Clean the “me” from your conversation and let “we” shine.
Stimulate instead of Manipulate
Which do you do—manipulate your team into doing what you want? Or, stimulate them based on their internal motivations to do what’s best for the company?
Your habit may be to manipulate or tell, which focuses more on why your way is the best in the world. But what if that teammate doesn’t share your “why”? No amount of manipulation closes that deal.
I heard a story about a furniture store sales rep who attempted to sell a customer who wanted a round coffee table. The rep showed her every square and rectangle table in the store. Exasperated, the customer asked if he could order her one. “Of course,” he said. “I’ll email you a picture and the website.”
You guessed it. The picture was of a rectangular coffee table.
Active listening is the critical difference between manipulation and stimulation. Ask the right questions with a smile, listen carefully, and you’ll discover everything you need to know to help transform the team’s behavior to reflect the company’s culture KPIs. That’s the launch pad for stimulation.
Spray and clean the “manipulation” listening until it sparkles with “stimulation.” That’s how you form a mutually beneficial relationship that grows people and profits.
Transform instead of Transact
Such mutually beneficial relationships are transformative instead of just transactional.
Think about it this way: who do you take your vehicle to for repairs—someone who just keeps replacing parts and charging you for it?
Or, someone who accurately diagnoses and fixes your vehicle’s problem, and you drive away confidently?
Sure, you can manipulate some team members to comply with the behavior you want. For a brief time, anyway, or until you turn your back. Then like a rubber band, they snap back to their familiar. They lack a “why” that transforms their behavior internally.
You want to earn their trust by transforming the relationship.
Spray and clean your work practices until they sparkle with more than short-term behavior change. Trust is the currency of collaboration today.
Clean up these dirty work habits:
- “we” instead of “me”
- stimulate instead of manipulate
- transform instead of transact.
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