How Habits of Mind Can Change the Way We Work
“Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” – Peter Drucker
How will the culture of your school or business change as a result of COVID? That is the question many leaders and community members are asking. Whether you go to school, work in non-profits, or business, things have changed. So, the question becomes, What will our organisations look, sound and feel like as we transition to a new way of working? Some more questions to ponder:
1. What structures and processes will we keep and what will we jettison? Based on the work of Barry Johnson and Polarity Partnerships, there are good things we want to keep doing and new ways to collaborate to accomplish our mission. Both resources have an effective process to determine the blend of good ideas.
“When experiencing the tyranny of Or, the natural correction is to go to the genius of And.” – Barry Johnson
2. What will we do to prepare our organisations for an unknown future? We believe the work of Marshall Goldsmith can provide a pathway to
thinking. Goldsmith wrote, What Got You Here Won’t Get You There. Values don’t necessarily change but how you get there probably will
change.
Goldsmith coined the term “FeedForward.” The premise is that you can learn what did or didn’t work from feedback and data. What is critical is thinking, What do we do now, moving forward?” FeedForward is developing a plan of action based on the existing state of affairs. FeedForward creates a plan of action for a preferred future.
3. What are the attributes of a dynamic, creative workplace that attracts and retains the best employees who contribute to the mission, vision
and values? One way is to align a future learning culture based on the Habits of Mind developed by Costa and Kallick. These 16 habits have shown to elevate learning in schools. Several of the habits have been foundational in creating innovative cultures in business.
The culture lives in the hearts and minds of the people doing the work. Yes, the leader can set the tone and the mission. Think about the ticket agent for an airline or a teacher in the classroom. The culture is evident when the customer meets the ticket agent. The culture is evident when the student interacts with the teacher. (HOM 6 – Striving for Accuracy) Leaders must be overt about the culture, model it and align policies with the operational processes. Patrick Lencioni said leaders must, “over communicate” with the employees. Our experience tells us that people get busy with the day-to- day and forget. How do you keep the mission, vision and values alive in your organisation?
(HOM 9 – Thinking and Communicating with Clarity and Precision)
Your culture is defined by your customers whether they buy products, are students in the classroom or part of a community where the organisation resides. It is important to get feedback to assess progress or regression of the organisational mission. This is why HOM 3 –
Listening with Understanding and Empathy is so critical to making the organisational responsive and responsible. Along with HOM 3, HOM 7 – Questioning and Problem Posing is foundational for innovative companies. Pixar uses this in their process of ‘Plussing.’ The process brings people together, no trashing of ideas, adding suggestions that will make an issue better and contribute to the group.
Here are questions you might ask:
• What did you do today that created value for your customers?
• Educational Leaders: What did you do today that created value for your teachers and staff?
• Teachers: What did you do today that created value for your students?
• How do you define success?
• How do you serve others?
When speaking to state superintendents I, Bill, ask a question to the audience. How do you feel about working with volunteers? Crickets. I went on to say, “Your best teachers don’t have to work for you. The same is true in business. Your best people don’t have to work for you. Star
Performers can find a job. If retention of star performers is important, what kind of culture will attract and retain your best?”
This is where HOM 15 – Thinking Interdependently, accelerates learning. As Catmull, Pixar said: “Give a good idea to a mediocre team, and they will screw it up. Give a mediocre idea to a great team, and they will either fix it or come up with something better. If you get the team right, chances are that they’ll get the ideas right.” Some of the best innovative companies have interdependent thinking and collaboration as their lifeblood. Read about Apple, Microsoft, Netflix, etc. They all have processes that increase talking together creating new ways to get better. Ah, HOM 11 – Creating, Imagining and Innovating emerges. At Apple, they have a leadership motto: Experts coaching Experts. We think this is an example of HOM 16 – Remaining Open to Continuous Learning. We learn in many ways. Art and Bill get together regularly on the phone, email, and yes, in person to share their own learning, expanding perspectives and talking about applications.
“Knowledge is Important AND Insufficient.”–Sommer
All of us can learn new things. If you can’t apply ideas to real people in real work situations in real time, what good are they? Does the knowledge transfer to making a difference to people and organisations? Technology certainly can help. Face-to-Face communication is important to sustain relationships.
So, “Don’t go back to work, Go Forward to NEW work.” Make it a better place for people who will contribute to a better world by using the Habits of Mind.