How do you get the kind of behaviors that matters most to your business?
Consider a small business, which has grown to the point where the team finds it difficult to achieve the same results they once enjoyed.
As a leader, you see some changes in behaviors in various departments. For example: the sales team has grown complacent. They were used to taking orders the leadership team decided they wanted an aggressive and tenacious sales force in order to get new business. Because there are so many different angles to approach this problem it can be overwhelming for small businesses to determine how they should proceed.
To begin, they need to look at the common connection between strategy, values, and behaviors. Here are four steps to help businesses to drive new behaviors.
- Start with a clear outcome. Communicate the desired goals. Next consider what must be done internally to realize the external outcomes.
- Look at your core values. Determine if they need to be updated and are aligned with the new behaviors you wish to achieve. For example, if you are trying to enhance customer satisfaction, is responsiveness a core value? Is it clearly defined and communicated to employees?
- Identify the key behaviors. Make sure they match your new values. Consider what leaders, supervisors, and employees should start, stop, and continue doing in order to align the outcomes with the company’s new values. What steps can you take to create an environment that will allow employees to see the changes that need to be made?
- Lead the way. Attempts to change how things are done often fail when leaders aren’t emulating the desired behaviors. Changing behaviors is tough work and people will be more willing when they see leadership following through.
