The Habits That Hold One Back From the Top - Essay Example

hе Тwеnty Наbits Тhаt Ноld Yоu Bасk frоm thе Тор Name Institution Affiliation Knowing What to Stop People spend much time on what to do than on what to stop. In the organizational context and our daily lives, there is the tendency to focus on what we are supposed to do in order to achieve certain goals. This is because there is a mindset and organizational structure that makes individuals to gauge their behavioral contribution. For instance, the reward system of an organizational only recognizes what has been done but fails to realize the efforts invested in stopping something. Based on the case scenario of Gerald Lewin, the moral and corporate lessons that one can adopt is the need to discern that there are negative things that a person does which needs to be stopped. Shifting Into Neutral Not all behavior is good or bad but moving towards neutrality may be very helpful. Many people will always try to modify their behavior so as to suit the needs of others. They try to replace their negative doings with positive behavior that will please the people they interact with. However, it is impossible to change one’s personality completely because it needs a step at a time. The process of changing behavior cannot occur overnight since handling a dozen at a time is quite unrealistic. One of the best ways to avoid negative perceptions about you is doing nothing. It is by doing nothing that in the long run you will find yourself avoiding negative perceptions about your personality. This way, a person achieves neutrality. The reason is that doing nothing may neither inflict positive nor negative perceptions and it is in fact, the simplest to achieve. What’s wrong with us? We perpetrate common flaws in our daily lives as well as in the workplaces. Before one undertake to change their behavior, it is important that one understands better what wrong with that behavior specifically. There is a common tendency to outdo or outshine our colleagues in workplaces by expressing certain behavioral flaws, such as winning too much, negativity, telling the world how smarter you are, wanting to object every idea raised someone else and claiming credit where it is not worth among many others. These flaws have a direct impact on interpersonal relationship within an organization, and may be riskier if not handled. Correcting these bad behavior is important since it makes it easy to collaborate and work together harmoniously with others. Besides, it requires very little skills and efforts to avoid these flaws. The Higher You Go the more Your Problems are Behavioral Problems become more behavioral the higher you go. Many successful people have been so not due to their academic qualifications and skills they acquired throughout their four years in campus. Most people, including the CEOs have become successful because of their developed problem solving skills which are beyond their technical skills. In fact, such behavior is not taught in schools. It is upon an individual to learn how to solve problems over a period of time until he develops the skills. For instance, people judge doctors from the way he handles the patient, communicate to the patient and even how he delivers bad news. This is not technically based on medical skills but rather behavior that is developed overtime. Therefore, as you go up the leader to becoming a highly ranked staff, behavior changes. Two Caveats The process of changing our flaws in organizations depends on two caveats. Firstly, whether we are ready to accept our flaws, or secondly, you recognize that you have a weakness but accepting that you have problem is not easy. There are those individuals who are ready to accept that they are wrong. Many successful employees have a shared trait of accepting that at some point they do not know everything, and that they too have limitations. Since sometimes people are unaware of their flaws, they are ready to accept and change if they are told about them. However, it is important also that one should not be hard on themselves if their flaws do not affect others. The Twenty Habits 1. Winning too much This is an interpersonal problem that affects many people in organizations. Winning too much involves doings everything at all cost to make sure that it prevails. People who suffer from this kind of behavior often find themselves arguing in meetings, objecting any idea that is raised by another person, ignoring other people and also holding information so that others may not benefit from it. Therefore, people with the “winning too much” behavior strive to win where it is not even worth to since their actions affects organizations negatively in most cases. 2. Adding too Much Value This is a common behavior in most people who think their contribution is much worth than other people’s ideas. This behavior has a negative implication since it may block or discourage innovation in organizations, and consequently leading to backwardness. For instance, a person may approach a senior officer in the company to share his brilliant idea but the officer will try to show the individual how best the idea could be if done if thought in a particular way. 3. Passing Judgment This involves approving or disapproving other people’s behavior based on certain perceived conditions. Passing judgment to others is not a good behavior even though some people think it’s the best way to facilitate the change of behavior. The nature of interpersonal behavior that one adopts depends should not be judged since everyone has a reasons for making certain choices. For instance, a doctor cannot judge a person who has a broken leg as either a criminal or something else, but will focus on treatment of the leg. Therefore, it is better to listen to someone but not judging them based on what they are saying to you. 4. Making Destructive Comments Some people will serve no other purpose than to put people down. There are individual who are naturally envious and wouldn’t want anyone to thrive or be better than them. As a result, they tend to give negative and destructive comments without any rational basis. The destructive comments in organizations can be issuing irrational statements such as “that can’t work” and giving positive comments in a manner that sounds sarcastic. Also, people use past experiences of others to blackmail and hurt them. It is not good to issue destructive comments to other. In fact, it is rather better to say nothing and be neutral. 5. Starting with “No”, “BUT”, “HOWEVER” Using the above negative quantifies implies that one person is wrong while the other one is right. In rare situations especially in organizations where the top ranking staff feels that they are the bosses and only their ideas are the best, you will find them appreciating one’s idea without using the above quantifiers. The COO was used to making arguments and contesting ideas, but it was a matter of time that he changed and could even correct the CEO. Therefore, one needs to account the number of times in a day such behavior expresses itself, and change. 6. Telling the World How Smart We are This type of behavior is common among people who think they know much than others. Some people will sometimes node their heads and use some body languages to indicate that you nothing much than they do. Other will actually boast around about their intellects, and even going to an extent of comparing themselves to others. However, not all people who think are smart have their intellects greater than others. Whenever a person tries to show that he or she is smart, they tend to communicate through body languages that they are not hearing something that they’ve not heard. Therefore, the problem is that such behaviors are meant to insult people. 7. Speaking when Angry To speak angrily means using emotional volatility as a management tool. When people get angry they usually out of control and they can utter or do anything disastrous. When at this mental state, it is difficult to control people since anger creates an unsuitable working environment for employees. 8. Negativity or “that won’t work” People always share their negativity even when they are not asked. The negative minded people are all over in many organizations. They are ready to give you reasons why they think your idea cannot work for the company. Their basis for reasons against is usually customers, salaries, culture and “we tried it before” statements. What such people usually mean is that the idea is not good, better or best. 9. Withholding Information There are instances where people refuse to share information for some reasons. However, in organizations, people refuse to share since they want to win too much. Some behavior to withhold information is accidental while other is intentional. For instance, you might fail to attend a meeting which you were not told about, an e-mail you were not copied on or you happen to be the last person to know about something. When people withhold information they are building mistrust instead of building loyalty. 10. Failing to Give Proper Recognition Failing to recognize people is depriving someone from emotional payoff of achieving an objective. This has an impact in the retention of employees in an organization. Failure to recognize efforts of people will result to low productivity. Recognition is closure of relevant information to employees. 11. Claiming Credit that We don’t Deserve This behavior attracts two crimes in one, which is while one is deprived of recognition; the credit is given to another person who doesn’t deserve. It involves taking once credit and using it as if it your achievement. This type of behavior is a component of wanting to win. It is the way of the world because there have been so many cases where credits are denied to the right person and given to a particular group only. 12. Making Excuses Making excuses is not a good behavior in leadership. However, some excuses are valid and uncontested because they have some level of rationality and genuinely. Some excuses amount to explanation as Bill Clinton said. Therefore, no one should say that “I can’t do this” because of some baseless reasons. Successful leadership is characterized by being accountable and making things happen. 13. Clinging to the Past When one wants to change, clinging to the past is not a good idea. Change does not rely on the past experiences but on what is supposed to done in the present. The past life experiences are only important in obtaining an understanding of certain phenomenal issues that resulted into the recent situations. Therefore, people should stop blaming that which happened in the past. 14. Playing Favorites Playing favorites in organizations is common. At some point, the most skilled and hardworking employees end up being sucked by the management for the benefits of others. In other words, some initiates the suck up to favor a particular group. The analogy of the dog shows how more concerns are given to the dog and not the family members. People should not incite the management to suck others. 15. Refusing to Express Regret This involves the act of accepting the consequences and taking responsibilities of our actions. Expressing regret is a way of cleansing one’s behavior and it in fact; help a person to avoid unnecessary mistakes. Regretting and apologizing when you have done something wrong is a sign of respect and care for others. 16. Not Listening Not listening to someone is ignorance and disrespectful of someone. When one doesn’t listen he means that he doesn’t care about what is being said, the person talking is wrong or stupid or the issue being raised is not understood. It may also communicate that someone is wasting time for the other. 17. Failing to Express Gratitude This involves commending on what other people have done. Appreciating by expressing gratitude motivates someone. 18. Punishing the Messenger There is no need of punishing the people who are trying to help the organization to be successful. If people provide help the best thing you can give to them is to say “Thank you.” 19. Passing the Buck This refers to blaming other people for our mistakes. The shifting of blame is a character that does not do well to a person it instead kills him. There is a need to accept faults and take responsibility. To shun from this behavior, one needs to always avoid it completely. 20. An Excessive need to be “me” People who think more about themselves will tend to care less about others. Thinking about oneself may hinder success because we all need each other. For instance, you may not want to do something or embrace change because you feel you are not like someone else. It is sometimes about what people think about you and not what you think about yourself. Read More