By Dennis Nishi
Two years after becoming vice president of innovation at VF
Corp., an apparel company based in Greensboro, N.C., Soon Yu was
approached by one of his bosses, who quietly suggested that he do a
360-degree evaluation. Some of his co-workers were unhappy with his
management style. The extensive review included Mr. Yu's employees
and bosses as well as a self-assessment.
"It was a really painful process," says Mr. Yu, who was told
that he could be overly critical and unilateral in his
decision-making. "But all of these reviews gave me a better
understanding of what was driving my bad behaviors."
After some self-reflection, Mr. Yu realized that he'd inherited
his father's tough expectations. He also came from an
entrepreneurial background and was used to making quick strategic
decisions on his own. In contrast, VF had a very collaborative work
culture.
Mr. Yu worked with several coaches to break his bad habits. Now,
when he doesn't agree with employees at meetings, for example, he
doesn't react by trying to impose his ideas over theirs. Instead,
he links the instances that make him tense to more positive
thoughts of his relationship with his wife. The visualization
reminds him of how a successful marriage is about collaboration and
how that same dynamic works equally as well with his team.
The exercises helped. Productivity improved and everybody is
happier. Mr. Yu and his team have since been instrumental in
rolling out successful corporate initiatives that have encouraged
VF brands, such as the North Face and JanSport, to be less
proprietary. The two outdoor equipment groups now combine their
expertise to co-develop new products.
Whether chronically tardy or disorganized, we all practice bad
habits in the office and frequently on a daily basis. But real
change requires more than coming up with a list of New Year's
resolutions. Researchers say that bad habits are habitual responses
that have been repeatedly reinforced within a specific context.
Just committing to an A-to-Z goal isn't enough to break the cycle
for most people. Employees need to determine what the problems are,
deconstruct the causes, and work to replace the bad habits with
good ones.
Just Get Started
Although the process may sound daunting, change is easier if you
are systematic about it, says Chip Heath, co-author of the book
"Switch: How to Change Things when Change is Hard." It's a matter
of aligning our rational needs with our emotional responses.
Don't start with a "here to there" goal, which is the wrong
approach that's often made in business, says Mr. Heath. The problem
is that "there" can look very far. What employees can do instead is
to shrink the change by breaking up goals into more manageable
chunks while rewarding ourselves for reaching the smaller
milestones. Some easy successes can make it easier to complete the
entire goal since overcoming inertia can be one of the biggest
challenges.
Preload the Action
Once you've identified the cues that trigger your bad habits,
reprogram yourself by taking those instances that you want to
change out of the context that they were created in, says Peter
Gollwitzer, a psychology professor at New York University who
studies how goals and plans affect behavior. So if you find that
you tend to snack when stressed out, preload a healthier response
by framing your goal as an if-then statement, as opposed to saying,
"I want to achieve X." Tell yourself that if I'm stressed out, then
I will eat an apple. In your mind, imagine that you'll eat an apple
in response to being stressed. When reinforced repeatedly, the new
response will eventually replace the old one, says Mr.
Gollwitzer.
Keep Going
Some bad habits take time to change, especially if they've been
reinforced over a long period or have a strong intuitive appeal.
Continue to monitor your habits and routines, says Mr. Heath, who
recommends scripting your actions as a way to reinforce your new
habits on a daily basis and as a reference point for staying on
course. If you feel that your if-then action triggers are not
working well, rephrase them in a different way. You might need to
simplify them for clarity or make them more personal.
Remove associations at work or at home that can elicit the
undesired responses. If your office is close to a few well-stocked
candy dishes, for example, change your route and stock your own
drawers with healthy food. If you're trying to quit smoking, do it
in a different place, since your office or home is part of the
routine. You want to break the chain that reinforces the bad
habit.
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