Why Managing Behaviours is as Important as Managing Skills

In leadership, management of behaviours is often only reviewed at the point where something has gone wrong.

Managing, and even considering, the behaviours of a team can be an overlooked element of leadership – but one where so much value can be gained when it is given appropriate time and consideration.

Proactively managing behaviours at surface level can increase harmony in your team; on a deeper level it can influence and re-shape your team’s success.

In this blog, we’re going to look at the importance of managing your team’s behaviours, and not just their skills, tasks and projects.

Managing Skills vs Behaviours

For some leaders, the extent of their focus on behaviour management is performance management meetings when an issue arises, or a cursory conversation in the yearly appraisal to note if someone is adhering to, or straying away from broadly defined behaviours expected of the company. But using your leadership skills in a proactive, positive way has the potential to transform behaviour management into behavioural leadership – we’ll look at this in more depth later in the blog.

For some leaders, it can be easier to stay in the realm of to-do lists and project updates – talking about tangible things is always more straightforward than picking apart people’s thoughts, feelings and desires.

There can be a few different barriers that stop leaders from feeling comfortable discussing behavioural topics and issues with their team, let’s look at what they are

Barriers to Behavioural Leadership

Behaviour management can be something that leaders shy away from – the fear is that it can seem punitive or micromanaging to focus on behaviours rather than tasks, but it is in this uncomfortable space where the opportunities for growth lie.

Are any of these scenarios familiar to you?

• Fear of coming across as patronising when trying to increase team morale
• Avoidance of raising the issue of negativity in the team for fear of backlash
• Not feeling equipped to deal with your team’s emotional needs

Many leaders feel uncomfortable broaching deeper topics, but it is in these deeper, sometimes hidden, areas where the failure or success of the team will lie. Do you know which of your team really love their role and the company and want to stay for many years? Which team members actually don’t feel like a good fit and are looking to leave soon? Which ones feel like the culture is negatively impacting their work?

In creating a harmonious, open and positive space for people to work, issues are dealt with quicker, staff are less likely to leave, and the quality of the work is higher as people care more about the successes of the whole team – this can be achieved through behavioural leadership.

Practicing Positive Behavioural Leadership

So what does proactive behaviour management look like? And what can it achieve?

• Setting the tone for a genuinely positive working environment – leadership can be a strange realm to be in; your team will be looking to you for guidance not just on current work issues, but on a deeper level they are looking for you to set the tone of the team, whether they appear to be looking for this (or not). Leaders can feel afraid of exhibiting patronising behaviours in giving praise, or raising team morale (think arbitrary weekly praise or roundups). Great leaders can recognise and give genuine praise to their team members – it’s about actively being involved in your team’s activities – their struggles and successes – and using your observations of this to bond and strengthen the team.
• Creating a team that is not fractured by challenges – stressors are a part of working life, yet it is sometimes shocking how quickly issues can turn a working environment sour, especially if problems have been bubbling under the surface without you noticing. A leader dedicated to proactive behaviour management will be continually aware and focused on managing the relationships within the team, for example, ensuring task delegation and skills mixes are right across the team, that there are no ongoing unresolved, or frequently occurring issues with any individual or teams.
• Setting behavioural boundaries and leading by example – as a leader you are not expected to be superhuman, but it does lie with you to set behavioural expectations and uphold them. Avoid common behaviours that can erode morale and cohesion such as complaining and being negative in team meetings – pledge to meet every negative comment with a positive counter and see what difference this makes. Engage in genuine praise for team members on a job well done, even celebrating the smallest of wins, when done consistently, can greatly impact morale and strengthen the team as a whole.

It is the nuanced decisions and actions you put in place, that come from a place of positivity, that will have the greatest impact on your team.

When individual leaders or entire management teams fail to cultivate positive workplace behaviours, the result is a toxic working environment. How common is this? You don’t need to look very far either online or in your own personal and professional circles to find people who have experienced a toxic workplace. I think this highlights the fact that behaviours in many teams and organisations are left unchecked, which can lead to the unfortunate breakdown of cultures.

Finally

Stressful events and challenges are part of working life, and great leaders are able to create an environment where challenges bring the team together, rather than create friction and irreversible damage to working relationships- and this all comes down to the behaviour of team members towards one another.

Until next time,

Julia Carter

About Julia Carter

Julia Carter is the MD of Zestfor?Ltd and specialises in working with leaders and managers of virtual and hybrid teams to improve team effectiveness.

Effective leadership involves numerous competencies, but it also requires a core mindset which is rarely explored in leadership programmes. Julia’s mission is to instil this core mindset into as many leaders as possible so that they can empower their people in their areas of specialty...and hopefully in their personal lives too.

In 2009, Julia founded Zestfor - a training consultancy and continues her mission.