Category: LivingBrandProject
The Power of Positive Reinforcement
The Human Element (#THE)
The Human Element
Dale Smith, Creative Director, Bridge
As Bridge’s Creative Director and a behaviouralist, in this series of articles I am on a quest to discover the magic formula that allows humans and brands to coexist to create an amazing company culture. In this ever-changing environment, I endeavour to find commonality that will translate into a strategy of ‘must-haves’ and a list of ‘must-dos’ that will ensure a seamless transformation of your Living Brands. My aim is to study the human element and the constants in organisational change. So, for 30 days, I drastically altered my diet and introduced a new exercise regime to track daily what it felt like to be immersed in a transformation as part of the ‘Living Brand Project’.
“Companies are driven by humans, so therefore they behave like humans.”
The parallels between an individual’s life experience and that of the collective in a company are everywhere. The first 30-day challenge was a real-time experiment.Each day of the 30-day ‘Human Element’ experiment brought new challenges and opportunities to better understand how a company can feel as it moves through an engagement programme. This next phase will break into four parts; exploring the parallels found between a week in the experiment and a quarter in an organisational culture transformation. Change does not happen overnight, and by identifying the human face of change we can better understand how to create change programmes that not only motivate our people, but also offer long term, sustainable solutions. The magic formula starts with identifying the key trends that can offer positive change and the pitfalls that can move us off track from our desired outcomes. The human element is being able to correlate every day human behaviours with that of the company collective.
The Human Element: Breaking Habits
Change does not happen overnight, and by identifying the human face of change we can better understand how to create change programmes that not only motivate our people, but also offer long-term, sustainable solutions. The magic formula starts with identifying the key trends that can offer positive change and the pitfalls that can move us off track from our desired outcomes. The human element is being able to correlate everyday human behaviours with that of the company collective.
One week after the ‘main 30-day’ challenge
A week after the ‘main 30-day’ part of the #LivingBrandProject, Dale reflects on the challenges of sustaining transformation, both personally and in business.
“Sometimes we have to move and shake with our businesses in order to find what is right for our employees and the business, creating a clear structure between those two worlds.”
Living Brand Project: Week Four Highlights
Week Four and it has been Dales toughest week of the #LivingBrandProject, however he is hopeful in continuing a successful transformation.
Day 30: New beginnings
Between the parallels
As one chapter closes, another one begins. As the day came to an end, it was a great opportunity to look objectively at the entire project. From the original goals and desires for the programme during its inception, to the many touch points along the journey. I did have one milestone and that was to wear a favourite shirt that had not fit for a few years. If there was any measure of success to me, that would have been it. Yet that of course is not the level of insight that is required in a company transformation project. This leads me on to my ending parallel; how do you measure success? There will always be the quantitative and qualitative measurements that are in place, but never forget to just step back and do your own measure of success by simply asking: how does the organisation feel? After all your efforts and at the end of this phase of the journey, take time to appreciate just how far you have come and what this stage of success looks, sounds and feels like. Having worked on several large transformation projects, there are moments of success that will never be truly measured and can only be felt through your personal intuition.
Day 29: Team work
Between the parallels
As the end of the first 30 days is near, the team came together today to give additional support and motivation. We did a group fitness class with Tom, which turned out to be a real blast. The snapshot video is on our FB – so for a giggle, I recommend taking a look. This brings me on to today’s parallel: the power of teamwork and the importance of having one common purpose and goal to rally around. This project has not only allowed me to become more focused and driven, it has done the same for many in the team. We all create the world in which we live, and if you wear a frown, do not be surprised when others stop smiling around you. The energy of not just the leader, but all of the team is in constant churn and it is key to continuously feed it with positive intent and activities that bring the team together and allow them to be real and fun. It is also key for the team to have extrinsic motivators and a higher purpose that they rally around outside their normal tasks. This could be charity work or a transformation programme – it is all about inclusion and direction. Once the team has this focus they will often take this autonomy forward and begin to openly share their own knowledge and become participants in the future of the project.
Day 28: My time
Between the parallels
It is so amazing how much difference one day can make in our motivation and how just the day before I was inspired by the energy of others and today I really needed one day to ‘just be’. I decided to totally take the day off and shut myself away from the world; put on a few good movies, do all those loads of laundry that have been piling up and get on top of a few things. I always find days like this a dichotomy: one side of me loves the slow, non-directional pace, and the other side gets a little bored and is guilty to not be making the most of my Sunday. However, it is the latter that is of interest in this parallel. It is important for leaders to pace themselves and be more forgiving of themselves when they need to jump off the treadmill for a few minutes. The day was interesting in the so much as I was still fully committed to the programme and with such a clear no-cheat rule, I could relax in the fact that this meant healthy food and no alcohol – contrary to those lazy Sundays in the past that easily turned into snack-attack days. It is important for all people to find their space and be comfortable to ‘just be’; not judging this time through the eyes of others. It also gave me time to reflect on many of the key learning points that we have explored as a team over the last 28 days. I also realised that no matter how different the days can be they are all working in their special way towards the final outcome.
Day 27: Others’ energy
Between the parallels
I made a conscious choice to use this day to push my boundaries a little more and take the advice of Tom and do an extra personal training session over the weekend. Today we really pushed it out, and I have to say I felt better for it. The need to reframe constantly is key to the success of any project, and the exercise did seem to help. It is great to be around such a driven and motivational spirit like Tom. It is key at this stage to take the energy of others and make it your own. The temptation to just allow this to roll on through and get to the end is tempting, however Tom also has a vested interest in his part of the project, as my fitness success is his success. This is something that we must always remember in any transformation project as we may all work collaboratively to reach the overall goal, but each individual driver will have goals that are intrinsic to themselves.