Newness
The decision to take the game on
I had flash backs from the 1980's and 90's recently that conjured up feelings of pain and hurt as old scars were opened up.
The Socceroos (Australian men's soccer team) had another poor result losing to the Japanese national team last week, meaning Australia will have to go through a playoff tie to qualify for the World Cup finals in Qatar. But, from what I saw of the performance I do not expect qualification to be achieved.
Qualifying for a World Cup was not common for Australia 30 to 40 years ago, but more recently it has been achieved with regularity. This most recent result was not what us fans would have liked, but this is not the focal point of my exasperation. It is the fashion of play which was so agonising in this match against Japan.
We often look at sporting stars and marvel at their sublime skills and athleticism. Commentators and fans heap adulation on them for the amazing feats they can execute in their performances. But, there is something more valuable that I look for other than any of this and that is their decision making.
Sticking with soccer as an example, when a player has the ball and decides to attack or make an unpredictable move they are doing something extraordinary. The decision to be bold can open vast areas of space for their team to advance and create all sorts of opportunities. But often, those not confident in their own ability or that of their team mates will control the ball and play it back to safe areas. The Socceroos did this constantly to the point that it was predictable and the opposition was able to apply so much pressure they became the aggressor, even without the ball.
This same situation dogs many of our workplaces. We work hard and diligently, but rarely do we make big moves or take on the challenges in front of us with boldness or inventiveness. Instead, we play it safe and keep our heads down. Let's face it, why would we take unnecessary risks? A mentality of 'playing not to lose' rather than 'playing to win' creates a sense of safety and security. Ironically, Australia's safe approach has left them teetering on failure and one must ask if the safe known way of playing was ever safe at all!?!
Our bias towards the path well trodden is woven through the fabric of our workplaces. When we try and bring newness into how we work (to play to win) we are fighting a few battles. According to Adi Jaffe, author of The Abstinence Myth, there are a few key factors to overcome:
Behavioural Psychology:
Classical Conditioning - learnt behaviour that associates one stimulus with a response. Example: When my phone rings an important client's name shows up on my phone and I immediately hold my breath and my heart starts racing. See Pavlov's Dog Experiment as a key reference
Operant Conditioning - behaviour shaped by positive or negative reinforcement. Example: People get their ideas shot down in meetings so everyone hesitates to speak up and only do so when they really have to.
Observational Learning - imitating behaviours we see around us. Example: No one cleans up their coffee mugs in the kitchen, so I decide not to either.
Neuroscience:
Neurons fire at the beginning of a new behaviour, and then again when a behaviour finishes. Over time the neurons form a pattern making it difficult to break old habits. This is also how we create automatic or instinctual skills (example: riding a bike, changing gears when driving a car)
These habits are related to our emotions, making it even tougher to understand and find ways to update or correct. (Example: ever tried to not eat that last piece of chocolate cake? You know you shouldn't, but you just can't seem to stop yourself. Before you know it, the cake is in your tummy)
Bringing newness into our teams is difficult. There are social and biological barriers to overcome which is why it is pointless to do a one-day training program for your team and expect to achieve a complete culture shift afterwards. The same goes for tweaking incentives, responsibilities, processes, and most importantly, expectations. Being patient, thoughtful, and encouraging with self and others is always going to be helpful to improving team decision making and breeding a mentality to win rather than not to lose.
The real question to pose is; how are you influencing those around you to play to win rather than playing not to lose?
