In the latest in this column for leaders who coach, Lynn Scott looks at the temptation of the ‘Quick Fix’ for behaviour change (and how to avoid it)
This message came through from one of my new leadership coaching clients this week (I’ll call him Chris).
Chris has recently been promoted.
“I’m really concerned about my team’s ability to extract themselves from the day-to-day issues and start focusing on the future. I need them to understand why they need to think differently and how to do this as well as helping their own teams to do this.”
I’m pretty sure this will be familiar territory with some of the people you coach, too.
Chris thought it would be a good idea to run a one-day offsite to look at “behaviours” as a starting point and “build some team cohesion”.
I told him that this was probably not the best place to start – for three key reasons.
- Reason one: We need to understand each team member’s ‘reasons’ for being stuck in the day-to-day issues. (These are Chris’ words, Chris’ ‘truth’ – his team may have other perspectives). The team is a ‘they’, but they are also a group of individuals with different beliefs, backgrounds, ideas and habits and different work projects – and of course a different ‘map of the world’.
- Reason two: I know from experience – and you do too – that a one-off event won’t shift anything much in the
long term. So let’s not collude with this idea. - Reason three: We build new habits (behavioural or otherwise) over time and through repetition. So shorter, more regular sessions are going to be more useful for Chris and his team. Consistency, regularity and progress are the name of the game.
All this is a bit like you saying to me, ‘Go to the gym for a day and suddenly you’ll have Michelle Obama arms.’
If only.
I know I’ve got to start lifting 1kg weights consistently before I can start lifting 10kg weights consistently. Those bingo wings will be with me for a while. Until they won’t. (Well, that’s the plan.)
Leaders like Chris are busy – they want quick, easy solutions. Of course, they do. But, let’s face it, how many one-off away days have you and your clients been on which (be honest) achieved very little in terms of long-term change?
It can be easy to collude with a senior leader’s ideas because we want to help. But instead, we need to take a step back. Let’s help Chris look at this challenge through different lenses.
Using these lenses will help you too in any situation when the person you are coaching is hoping to achieve behaviour change very quickly and is looking for a quick fix.
One: Context
Chris is in a global organisation whose biggest objective right now is to cut cost and to restructure while bringing together teams from across the UK and Europe.
Question: How is the current context having an impact on the team members’ focus areas and behaviours right now? (And what about Chris himself?)
Let’s face it, the word ‘restructure’ often creates fear as well as hope.
Those different feelings lead to very different actions (or lack of them).
Let’s help Chris explore those team members’ feelings a bit more and the actions they lead to. (“I’m scared I might lose my job so I’m just trying to get through my inbox and can’t focus on anything else.”)
Two: The organisational system
Linked to context above.
Question: How much does the rest of the organisation and particularly the senior team focus on the future? And what about Chris himself? Are they wonderful role models for this – or not.
What is played out at senior level (or the ‘level above’) is often being copied further down the line. I learned that when Chris has one-to-ones with his boss. There’s not much listening but a lot of ‘you should be doing this’, ‘why aren’t you doing that?’ and ‘I need you at this meeting tomorrow to explain this’. Not to mention the meetings frequently cancelled last minute.
Chris’ boss is reactive; Chris is caught in that reactivity. He’s potentially passing that reactivity on to his team who are doing the same to their teams.
So that reactivity runs through the organisation from top to bottom.
Behaviour breeds behaviour and every behaviour has a ripple effect.
Question: At what point and level can we ‘interrupt’ the behaviour patterns to help Chris’ team focus on that future? What about Chris himself? How can he start to create a different way of being? What can he support, role model, challenge, stand for?
Because ‘do what I say, not what I do’ is going nowhere.
Three: What can we influence and change?
The answer to this will depend initially on your role as a coach and how much Chris can influence and change things for himself and for his team members and how much the team members themselves can influence and change.
One thing I’ve learned – as a coach you can do great work with someone like Chris and his team if Chris’ boss is supportive. Better still if that support is active and explicit.
Four: What are the perceived benefits for team members of being stuck in ‘day-to-day issues’?
This is often overlooked by coaches and leaders and it’s a big mistake.
The ‘benefits’ to a team member might mean that they’re ‘comfortable’ with the day-to-day issues. They’re in their zone of expertise. Stepping out of those might feel challenging or difficult. So we need to dig a bit deeper into this.
What are the pros and cons of changing this behaviour? What will we lose and what will we gain?
These questions need exploring.
So now what?
I hope this demonstrates that if we’re seeing the world through Chris’ eyes only, we’re getting a snapshot of the situation and one perspective.
We’re missing so much if we don’t dig deep, get curious and explore.
So, my recommendation to Chris is that we play the longer game.
We involve everyone in the team in identifying the ‘problem’ but also in co-creating the solutions.
Which means everybody’s voice is heard and we’re outing any ‘assumptions’ we’re making.
We focus on thoughts, feelings and their impact on daily activity.
We look at pros and cons.
We look at blockers and enablers.
We start small.
There might be some quick wins. Sometimes some basic stuff – I’m constantly amazed, for example, at how many senior people are tolerating or espousing back-to-back meetings or never-ending notifications and are therefore unable to think straight or see clearly.
My recommendation to Chris is that he/we work on a regular basis on shorter, focused sessions with the team – metaphorically lifting the 1kg weights first and building those muscles week by week. Because that’s where we’ll see those results.
Chris, be patient and trust the process!
- Lynn Scott is an ICF Master Certified Coach (MCC), director of Lynn Scott Coaching and founder of The Effortless Leader Revolution. She’s a leadership and team coach, coach supervisor and ICF Coach Mentor: www.lynnscottcoaching.co.uk
- You can join her free Facebook group for leaders and managers, The Effortless Leader Revolution, for more leadership tips and resources that work in the real world.
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