As often mentioned, change – whether personal or organizational – is not easy. Even when presented with clear reasons and validated in research, for behaviour change it is still a distant goal for many leaders. It is not a decision to which leaders make the commitment to right away either.
In fact, some leaders do not even see the need for behaviour change. More than not, it seems that other people are the problem (but really, without the other people, how do we lead?). The truth is that no one, regardless of how high performing and high achieving, is immune to poor behaviour and poor judgment. It is easy to give in to toxic behaviours because we are inundated by them every day. On the other hand, it is hard to erase the effects of bad behaviour on our reputation and the connections we have worked hard to build.
Behaviour change should not be treated as an item on your to-do list that gets demoted to tomorrow when you get too busy to deal with it today. If that is the approach you take, you may find that at the end of the quarter your once deep connection with people, has become superficial, or your once robust influence on your staff has diminished.
At the very least, as a leader, we must make a conviction to learn about our own behaviour. That in itself is the first step. Then, we must learn about the behaviour of each one of our followers. And finally, we must learn how to adjust our personal behaviour patterns to get the most out of our followers. Making the choice to change is a personal journey, but one we all must take if we are to become and remain influential leaders. Using the skill of Positive Presence makes change far more achievable.
Once you make the choice to change your behaviour, do not get discouraged. Use as many tools as possible to help you, and conduct a self-examination before, during, and after your transformation. The good news is that you are most likely already practicing many of the approaches discussed here. Take heart in this fact. Now all you need to do is polish your approach every day to build even stronger connections.
CORPORATE HARMONY is grateful to Dr. Michael E. Frisina for his contributions to this entry.
Catherine is the President and CEO of CORPORATE HARMONY, providing virtual solutions for leadership development and organizational culture change. Her leadership and coaching experience as a Project Manager in an ever-changing, fast moving technological organization with unrelenting demands drove her to the realization that a positive mindset and strength-building behaviors are essential for today’s complex and chaotic organizational systems. CORPORATE HARMONY’s virtual platform of programs, coaching and performance measurement, is an innovative online technology of tested proprietary content. The world-class content of CORPORATE HARMONY’s Positive Presence Program develops the skill of ‘Positive Presence’ and the necessary ‘Positive Presence Behaviour Competencies’ for maintaining a positive and energized mindset and increased performance in today’s complex work environment, and leading to a culture of collaboration and connection. Catherine’s vision for Corporate Harmony is to bring the skill of “Positive Presence” to the corporate world as it becomes more complex, ambiguous and chaotic. Catherine is uniquely positioned to impact organizations’ productivity and long term success, with her powerful vision of eliminating bad stress from every workplace around the globe, bringing purpose into the people equation to promote healthy, productive and meaningful work cultures and turn the tide on the neglect of mental health on a global scale. Catherine is author of the book: “CORPORATE HARMONY – The Performance Link for Today’s Modern Organization” Catherine can be reached at: Catherine.Osborne@corporateharmony.ca or go to ‘contact us’ on our website www.corporateharmony.ca. Catherine is available for consultation, and can be reached by 519-695-3407.