When you get up in the morning do you have a routine that you follow on a daily basis? Do you put your socks with the left foot first and then the right foot. Do you drive the same way each day to the office and if there are detours it seems to have a negative effect on you?

As a leader do you have much the same routine in your day to day activities? Do you have habits that you have formed over the years that are perhaps not motivating your employees to the extent that you would like? Do you recognize that these habits or behaviors are taking away from your leadership success?

Our behaviors are really like habits that we develop over time. If we do something repeatedly the same way it eventually becomes ingrained in who we are as a person. When we think of the impact that those behaviors can have on people that we work with it can be detrimental to our leadership success. What if we have had relationship challenges off and on over the course of our life and have brought that with us to the work place? What if we do not communicate well at home or outside of the home with family and friends? What if we have become a “teller” rather than someone that asks probing questions?

As a leader challenged with providing leadership in an organization, community or in your family you need to be aware of the impact that your behavior/habits can have on others. If you struggle with this journey it is a good time to reach out to a mentor to help guide you through this part of the journey. I have been working with a number of leaders at various levels and part of the mentoring process we are going through is a behavior/habit change in direction. It can be done – research has shown that it can be done and mentoring is most definitely a way to make it happen.

I have seen situations where changing behaviors/habits is a challenge especially when dealing with mentees/apprentices that have come from or are still immersed in a negative environment. This has resulted in a dependency on alcohol or drugs and even in violence – physical and verbal. This is definitely a little more challenging for a mentor to address but it is definitely an area where a trained mentor can bring value. The key to beginning this transformation is building the trusted relationship.

Understanding the capabilities of the mentoring process and understanding that behaviors/habits can be changed is the first step for us as mentors. Doing your research or reaching out to other thought leaders in the mentoring space for their guidance in dealing with these challenges is a positive step in the right direction. Gaining knowledge through your own research or through training is another way to shore up your capabilities in helping people change behaviors/habits for the positive.

Mentoring is a powerful tool that can help with the challenge of changing behaviors/habits in people. This will have a positive impact on the person and their network of colleagues and family. It will have a positive impact on the organization that they may be part of. If you do not like what you see in the mirror and want to change some of your behaviors/habits reach out to a mentor – “can you afford not to?”

References:

1. Great Leaders GROW – Becoming a Leader for Life, Ken Blanchard and Mark Miller
2. The Power of Habit, Charles Duhigg