Three Habits as a Foundation of Success

Growing a company or a team requires more than just ability and enthusiasm.  It requires a change of mindset, and a commitment to an overarching plan.  Without that level of commitment, a company or team cannot succeed and gain market share, or traction, depending.  Those commitments are built on small habits we need to acquire, individually, and as a team.  We begin with three habits to inculcate. 

The first habit we must acquire is the habit of effective communication.  Many examples of misunderstanding arise out of what is often left unsaid, which allows people to fill in the blanks with their ideas and notions, often borne out of a flawed perspective due to that lack of information.  Effective communication is borne out of two parts: what is said, and what is heard.  When we speak, in the context of leadership, the intent is to instruct, to inform, or to advise.  In all conditions, it should be explicit, clearly understood, with no ambiguity in salient points.  There is a lot of emphasis on this, because it is something overt and obvious.  The focus is on the self, and that is something very much within our control.  When we communicate, we wear the mask of the speaker persona, and we try and channel the people we represent, the team, so that they are invested. 

The second part of communication is listening.  Active listening is a lot harder than speaking, since the focus is on the other, and not the self.  When we learn to listen intently, we learn to communicate better.  Active listening is not merely about what is said, but how it is said, and what is left unsaid.  It is about understanding, also, how different members of the team, stakeholders and internal and external customers receive what is being said, and how they react to it.  People bring to any communication their unconscious baggage, and that must be factored into how we communicate with them. 

The second habit is continuous learning.  The world is changing, and that change is coming at an increasing rate.  It is important to appraised of current events, technological developments in related fields, business trends, market movements, and cultural evolution.  It is also important to have some form of grounding in general knowledge, business knowledge, industry-specific knowledge, as well as develop an appreciation of the arts, literature, history, and the natural sciences.  When we stop learning, when we cease to have that sense of wonder, when we forget to see the world in a new light, we ossify and stagnate.  It is insight that helps us develop our business strategies, see opportunities where others may miss, and find ways to disrupt the industry we are in.  Continuous learning is also found in regular training and sharing sessions, to inculcate that sense of curiosity and thirst of knowledge.  This is a value that must be demonstrated by leadership at every level, and be part of company or team culture.  Continuous learning is a value that drives innovation, growth, and research and development. 

The third habit is to develop systems.  Systems thinking organises the processes of what we do so that decisions are quick, dissemination of information efficient, and gathering of data is thorough.  Systems thinking is a trait that must be cultivated, documented, and implemented, so that the unavailability of some people does not jam the processes of the system.  Things still get done, people understand their contingencies, and morale is maintained even in trying times because there is always some form of direction.  Systems done correctly empower people, allow tracking of people and resources, and locate inefficiencies that can be addressed. 

These three habits are the foundations of building a successful company, organisation, or team.  We need to communicate, we need to learn, and we need to implement what we know and understand in a subscribable, replicable system, so that processes and quality is maintained, and eventually improve.