The One System That Changes Employee Behavior

June 14, 2017
6 min read

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The following excerpt is from Riaz Khadem and Linda Khadem’s book Total Alignment. Buy it now from Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound or click here to buy it directly from us and SAVE 60% on this book when you use code LEAD2021 through 4/10/21.

Did you know that there’s a process for behavior change that you can implement in your organization? This process, equally applicable to small or large organizations, includes the definition of values as distinguishing characteristics of a company. Your values, together with your mission and vision, become the key statements that guide your organization through its growth and development in the years to come.

Related: 3 Reports Every Manager Should Have

Behavior is observable and has an impact on others. Is it possible that some behaviors could produce results and at the same time have a very negative effect on the culture of the organization and on its customer base, or even be illegal? Absolutely. Read the news to see ample examples, from major banks abusing the rights of their customers to automobile manufacturers hiding the truth from their buyers, to companies illegally copying their competitors. Imagine the cost of these behaviors on the organization when they’re caught. A major automobile manufacturer agreed to pay $14.7 billion in damages for misrepresenting an important feature of their cars to the public. And this cost doesn’t include the negative impact on its image, which will no doubt negatively affect future sales. Such a cost could put many companies out of business.

Avoiding this type of situation is obviously a top priority for your company, whether you’re global or local. No one should be allowed to behave in a way that could negatively impact the organization. You might wish to do an analysis of the perception of the top team or a group of people in your organization as to the type of behaviors they’re witnessing. We’ve developed a process that will enable you to avoid negative behaviors and promote the positive ones. It all starts with the core values.

There are four steps to this process:

1. Define corporate/company values.
2. Define pinpointed behaviors aligned with values.
3. Change your behaviors.
4. Facilitate change in others.

Let’s examine each of the four steps and talk about ways you can apply them to your own business.

Define core values

The first step in the behavior change process is to define your core values, those certain values that should be embraced by all employees. You can brainstorm with the top team, choose from the list we provide here, or just use this list as a guide:

Trustworthiness. Each person working for the company should behave in a way that would earn the trust of others. As a result, our customers, employees and stockholders will trust the company. Being worthy of trust means doing one’s best and getting the job done. This also involves being honest, truthful and fair, not taking advantage of others and acting with integrity.

Service orientation. This implies an attitude of adding excep­tional value for our customers. It means we have a focus on empathizing with the customer’s challenges, exceeding their expectations and doing it with courtesy. The intent is import­ant and must show caring for the customer, both internal and external.

Quality consciousness. Being quality conscious means antici­pating customer expectations of the product or service they’re acquiring, turning the expectations into specifications for the product or service, and assuring that the specifications are met 100 percent every time.

Related: The 4 Roles of Accountability Within Your Company

Respectfulness. Being respectful means showing respect for all relationships, both internal and external, and treating everyone fairly and without prejudice.

Learning. This implies “being in a learning mode” and adopt­ing a mindset of openness to new ideas, showing humility and not having a “know it all” attitude in any situation. It means encouraging everyone to innovate and take risks without fear of failure or punishment.

These values can guide the conduct of the organization and have a great impact on the relationship with customers. Alignment with values can be your company’s ultimate competitive advantage.

Define pinpointed behaviors

But how do you “align” with values? How can you determine if someone is acting in a way that is aligned, for example, with “trustworthiness?” You can do it by observing their actions, not only in general ways, but watching for specific behaviors that illustrate trustworthiness. Let’s refer to these specific behaviors as pinpointed behaviors. Pinpointed behaviors are, by definition, specific, observable and verifiable. An example of a pinpointed behavior that could be characterized as trustworthy is “completing a project by the date promised.”

Change your behavior

No one can claim their behavior matches up perfectly with their values, but everyone can make an honest effort to improve. Each person can examine the corporate values and identify any behavior he or she might have that isn’t congruent with them. Then, they can make the effort to change. Changing behaviors can be difficult and will require resolution, discipline and perseverance.

When you resolve to change a behavior, you’re on the way to self-improvement. To help you along the way, you’ll need feedback on how (and if) you’re improving. It would be ideal to have feedback from a trusted person observing you. This person could be a friend, colleague or family member. However, offering this kind of feedback could be difficult for many in a working environment, leaving you with the option of being conscious of your own progress and providing self-feedback on your own improvement. Your effort will result in positive change that will be noticed in the work environment.

Facilitate change in others

The best method of facilitating change in others is setting and following your own example. Show employees and colleagues what the desirable behavior looks like, and your example will inspire them to follow suit.

Related: How to Measure the Effectiveness of Your Company’s Vision

The four steps we’ve outlined above are designed to assist any organization to align behaviors with values. You perform Steps 1 and 2 in a meeting with your executive team. Then, Step 3 is done by each of the top people. The success of your top people in Step 3 will determine their effectiveness in Step 4 and in your effort to see cultural transformation take place towards coherence with values. It’s important not to underestimate the power of example in an organization of any size. People will observe and follow the behavior as exemplified by their leaders.

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