Recognized Behavior Gets Repeated

Building consistent team behavior that’s based on our core company values will require removing any possible variance around what each value looks like in practice - in each individual role. But having a clear understanding of the necessary behaviors is just part of the process. It will take at least as much effort for our team members to build those (likely) different behaviors into their routines as it did for us; maybe even more. As leaders, we will need to be very intentional about recognizing even the slightest changes we see them making. 

I reference the lessons I learned through my experience in behavior-based safety for multiple reasons. Of course it’s rewarding to help reduce workplace injuries, as well as the costs that come with those injuries. The fact that it was my primary responsibility for close to fifteen years resulted in that methodology being a part of who I am today. But maybe more importantly than either of those is how much it taught me about why we all do what we do, even though it was through a lens focused on safety. One core tenant I probably don’t allude to enough applies here: recognized behavior gets repeated!

I had learned this in theory early on in my exposure to the world of behavior-based safety but I learned it in practice while tossing a baseball back and forth with our son when he was seven or eight years old. It was his first time wearing a glove so that alone took some getting used to. Since I had always been extremely good at baseball (everything except the parts that required running, hitting, and catching), I was uniquely qualified to bark commands at a kid with zero perspective for what he should be doing. Each time he attempted to catch the ball, he held the glove like a basket. If the ball was coming from high above his head, that was fine. If it was coming straight at him, it was going to glance off his hand just prior to removing any remaining baby teeth. 

As parents, what are we naturally inclined to do? For me, it was to address what he was doing wrong - over and over and over. And that recognized behavior was definitely getting repeated. What I failed to do consistently as I bitched about what he shouldn’t be doing was show him exactly what he should be doing. I do remember a few instances where he held the glove correctly and caught the ball, but I failed to comment on that since I was so engaged in addressing the more frequent undesired behavior. After what seemed like an eternity - and probably even longer for him - it hit me like a ton of bricks that I should be recognizing any attempt he made to change how he held the glove instead of only chastising him. Making that simple change didn’t resolve the issue immediately but it sure helped, and it made the entire experience something we both enjoyed (eventually).

To build a culture around values, even after we’ve laid a simple foundation and we walk the talk every day, we’ve got to make sure we’re celebrating even the smallest victories with our team members as they work to model our company values in their daily routines. Those small victories, especially when recognized appropriately and consistently, will build to bigger victories. All that said, we will still need to address the times where they fall short but doing that requires those clear expectations I mentioned earlier. Having clear and sustainable expectations in place and maintaining accountability around how we expect our core values to be exemplified can build the legacy we want to achieve as an organization so that’s what we’ll work through next.