The Connection Between Behavior And Your Bottom Line
One of the most common questions that executive leaders want to know is “Can you prove that improving workplace behaviors increases bottom line results?”
Truthfully? Proving how healthy behaviors contribute to a high performing and profitable organization is difficult to measure. The proof is in the end result.
Think of a family who has consistent rituals like sharing an evening meal, talking through conflict, and prioritizing fun. You can sense their connection. The visible results are a family that gets along, cooperates and is committed to one another. And it all starts with the behavior of the leaders of the family.
Proving how healthy behaviors contribute to bottom-line results starts with you, the executive leadership team and the degree to which you model the behaviors you want in your employees.
Just as parents or guardians are intentional about working together for the good of their children, as leaders of your organization, you need to do the same.
As my grandmother used to say “the proof is in the pudding” meaning the proof is in how leaders show up and get along with each other.
If you’re ready to take a serious look in the mirror, approach the following questions with your leadership team:
- To what degree do we point out behaviors that hold the team back?
- To what degree do we work through differences so that unresolved conflict doesn’t linger?
- Are there times when the way we speak to or treat one another, we wouldn’t want to see our employees emulate?
- Do we talk about creating a healthy work environment but don’t follow-through?
- Do we tolerate certain behavior and chalk it up to “that’s just how he/she is” when, in reality, it’s undermining how well we work together?
The honest conversation these questions invite will tell you just how well your leadership team is getting along. Connect what you learn to your visible results.
These questions recently led a CEO to confide in me and humbly admit:
“I’m part of the problem. I’ve allowed disrespectful behavior among my team. When people have come to me with complaints about one of the leader’s abrupt, condescending tone, I’ve given a token ‘don’t take it personally, you know they’re under a lot of stress at home. It will get better, just be patient’. Now I realize how I was discounting how this employee felt and condoning the leader’s behavior. I have a lot of employees with hurt feelings and quite frankly questioning my own leadership capability. It’s hard to admit, but true.”
I give this leader so much credit for her humility and willingness to acknowledge her part. It took a lot of courage for her to admit this. She is now taking action that started by looking in the mirror at her own behaviors.
If you’re looking for proof of how healthy workplace behaviors affect your bottom line results, start by looking at the behaviors of your executive team.
If you find your leadership team is avoiding difficult conversations for the sake of artificial harmony it may be time to have some hard conversations and learn methods for how to constructively work through conflict.
Let’s talk directly about the behaviors in your office that are creating a disconnect.
For the month of February only, you can get a 15% discount on a team assessment to pinpoint the areas your team needs to improve in how they work together.
Based on Patrick Lencioni’s book The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, this assessment will zero in on what holds your team back from getting the culture you want and ultimately the bottom-line results you need.
Schedule a call to begin your team assessment now.
“A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.”
– John C. Maxwell
Great leaders behave the way they want their employees to behave.