INTENTIONS & BEHAVIOUR

Pulling The Weeds of Employee Behaviour: 

It’s Systemic (Obviously!)

Ah, the modern workplace. 

A beautiful tapestry of deadlines, coffee breaks, and hushed gossip around the water cooler. 

When Bob from Accounting is late for the fifth time this week, it's tempting to think, “Classic Bob, always marching to the beat of his own very slow drum.” 

We've been told to address the behaviour, not the person. 

Progressive, isn’t it? 

But wait, there’s more! 

Instead of just pointing fingers at Bob, perhaps we should peek behind the curtain to understand the grand show that is...

The Enabling System.

"You can mow the weeds and be rid of them temporarily, but they will just grow back again. Or you can rip out the root system and be rid of the forever." - a hashtag#Clarism

Weeds, in this analogy, represent the undesirable behaviours we observe. Mowing them is equivalent to the superficial measures organizations often take to curb such behaviours. Addressing the symptoms without understanding the underlying causes is, at best, a temporary solution.

On the other hand, the root system symbolizes the enabling factors, deeply embedded within organizational structures, cultures, or even societal norms. 

When you identify and tackle these roots, you address the true source of the behaviour, thereby creating a lasting change. Instead of merely reprimanding an employee's behaviour, the focus shifts to understanding and altering the conditions that allow or even encourage such behaviour to manifest.

Let’s simplify: 

If Bob's consistent tardiness were a pesky weed, addressing his lateness is akin to a lazy snip-snip of the overground greenery. But to truly bid adieu (farewell) to this recurring flora of tardiness? Dig deep and rip out those roots!

Maybe Bob's not in love with the idea of playing tag with the morning train. Or perhaps, between us, Bob's just not a morning person (hashtag#NotAMorningPerson). What if the office ‘8 AM sharp!’ rule is less a beacon of efficiency and more an echo from an age when candles cost more than electricity?

Instead of rolling our eyes each time an employee errs, let's don our Sherlock hats. 

Let’s become workplace detectives, examining the not-so-mysterious case of "Why is this happening (again)?" 

Because if we're being brutally candid, it's less about the individual 'Bobs' and more about the garden bed we've prepared for their weed-like behaviour seeds to sprout (or occasionally wilt).

In wrapping up this tongue-in-cheek tour of the horticultural obvious, remember: 

Behaviour is less about the seed and more about the soil. 

So, before we bemoan about plants not blooming right or timely, perhaps it's high time we examined the quality (or lack thereof) of the compost we've tossed in (i.e. How did we create this shit in the first place?).

In the words of the wise, it’s not Bob, it's us. 

But hey, also, sometimes, it's just Bob.

 

Dave "Green Thumbs" Clare

Chief Evolution Officer, Circle Leadership Global.

 

WEEKLY CLARISM

Please see above...you get the point.