How to shape our automatic behaviours and live the IKEA key values more effortless
Why are habits important?
Habits emerge since our brains are constantly trying to save energy. Without habit loops, our brains would shut down. They would become overwhelmed by all the insignificant details of daily life. The more of our daily tasks that we can hand over to automatic behaviours, the more of our mental energy we can devote to other tasks which need our awareness and focus, like solving problems, creative thinking or making long term plans.
Habits does not come without potential problems
We might get trapped in bad behaviours, like not saying “hej” to each other in the mornings, not having fika to create a feeling of togetherness, losing our focus by always checking the mail box when hearing the “pling”, not showing up for ‘kraftsamling’, talking bad about our customers, instinctively complaining about every change or giving up when meeting the slightest challenge.
Habits are strong. They are so strong that they can cause our brains to cling to them at the exclusion of all else, including common sense.
Habits are strong
Habits are so strong that they can cause our brains to cling to them at the exclusion of all else, including common sense. The reason is that when we repeat certain behavioural patterns over and over again, these become imprinted in our neural pathways. The consequence is that we will never be able to completely delete our old habits. They will rest in our neural pathways and could show up again (e.g. alcoholism, bad eating or exercising habits).
Habits have big impact on our culture and perfomance
In our organisation we are thousands of co-workers who conduct our daily tasks and decisions based on habits. These behavioural patterns shape our IKEA culture and have a profound impact on our performance and development.
Our success is not necessarily about doing extraordinary things. More often it is about doing ordinary things really well and fast. Good habits gives speed.
Or as Aristotle said:
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.
How to work with habits
What are habits?
A habit is when our actions has become an automatic behaviour. Each of us have dozens, or even hundreds, of these routines that we rely on every day to save energy and secure good output.
For example, we automatically:
- Perform our morning routines (how we brush our teeth, how we get dressed, how and what we eat, tie our shoes and lock the door)
- Get to work (look in the review mirrors when backing our cars and taking the same route without thinking).
- Get started (say “good morning” to people, choose the same type of morning coffee, and get up to date by having a gathering or checking mails)
- Perform common tasks (how we meet, communicate, present, handling requests and approach problems, etc.)
How to change habits?
Habits can be changed, upgraded or replaced by fiddling with the components of the habits. The method is to identify and understand our habit loops, to deliberately design the upgrade, and then practice and repeat the new habit with determination.
Habits can be changed, upgraded or replaced by fiddling with the components of the habits. The method is to identify and understand our habit loops
For a habit to stay changed, a key factor is also the power of the group. Our odds of succeeding go up dramatically when we commit to changing as part of a group, even if the group is only two people.
There is no one prescription, except that practice makes perfect. Because individuals and habits are all different. Changing our eating habits is different from changing how we communicate with colleagues, which is different from how we prioritise tasks at work.
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This is an approach that help us diagnosing and experimenting with the different components of our habits.
- Step 1: Identify a habit
- Step 2: Target the habit loop
- Step 3: Experiment with rewards
- Step 4: Isolate the trigger
- Step 5: Create a change plan
A three step habit loop
- Trigger: Tells our brains to go into automatic mode and which habit to use. It can be almost anything, from visual trigger, such as a candy bar, to a certain place, a time of day, an emotion, a sequence of thoughts or the company of particular people.
- Behaviour: Can be physical, mental or emotional.
- Reward: Helps our brains figure out if this particular loop is worth remembering for the future. It can range from food or drugs that cause physical sensations, to emotional payoffs, such as feelings of being seen and acknowledged.
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Identify a habit you would like to reshape to help you live one or several IKEA key values more effortless.
Do like this: Take 5 minutes individually to target one weak work related habit of yours. To help you identify an IKEA culturally relevant habit, look at your way of:- Work together: Do I have any bad habits when e.g. communicating, meeting, presenting, collaborating and relating to others?
- Lead by example: Do I have any bad habits when e.g. taking leadership, initiatives, travelling, keeping time, and in how I overall show up in different situations, especially towards customers?
- Find better ways: Do I have any bad habits in e.g. my way of approaching problems, handling changes, new ideas and feedback?
- Get things done: Do I have any bad habits when it comes to e.g. taking responsibility, focusing, handling deadlines and stress when performing and delivering?
Clarify why this habit is weak and not that well in line with our IKEA key values. How would you like it to be instead?
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Now you have picked one habit and a goal. To understand your habit, you need to identify the components of your loop. Take 15 min in total. Start by drawing the habit loop on an A3 sheet, then start exploring the loop, asking yourself following and recording everything you can think of on the A3:
- Behaviour: What is the behaviour you want to change?
- Trigger: What is it that triggers this behaviour?
- Reward: What do you get from this behaviour?
Step 2 example
Trigger
- I’m in a meeting.
- It’s late afternoon.
- I see an unfamiliar word. I don’t understand. I feel uncertain.
- Certain people are in the meeting.
- I was prior to the meeting working on a strategy.
Behaviour
I interfere in presentations to point on details.
Reward
- Things become more familiar and orderly.
- I feel things become clearer and sharper.
- I feel acknowledged and included.
- I feel I make a difference.
- I feel more engaged.
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In order to redesign our habits, we start by investigating what we are craving for – the reward. Do like this: Imagine the habit and your current behaviour. What would be three alternative behaviours in that situation?
- Imagine alternative 1
How does that feel? What is the reward? Record your insights
- Imagine alternative 2
How does that feel? What is the reward? Record your insights.
- Imagine alternative 3
How does that feel? What is the reward? Record your insights.
Which of above rewards was strongest and most important for you? What seems to be the core reward your brain is craving for when being in those situations?
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- Imagine alternative 1
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In order to change a habit it is essential to know what triggers this automatic behaviour. By knowing the trigger we are more alert and prepared to alter our behaviours. Almost all habitual triggers fit into one of these five categories: location, time, emotional state, surrounding and action.
Do like this:
- Draw the table as in the example to the right on the backside of your A3 sheet.
- Fill in your case.
- Try to remember the last three times you were in this habitual situation and answer the five questions. The purpose is to identify and isolate the core trigger.
- Identify a possible pattern.
In above example, the person seems to be triggered to point on details when key stakeholders for his/her assignment are present. This behaviour has good intentions, but often comes at dispense of consuming time, the group losing the grip of the big picture and not coming to decisions.Copy link Copied Link Successfully copied link
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We can change to a better behaviour by planning for the trigger and choosing a behaviour that delivers the reward we are craving. What we need is a plan that help us make deliberate choices. Since every habit loop is different, all plans are different. However, as a guide…
Do like this:
- Define the new behaviour you want, based on the IKEA key values
For example: Keep silent and gather your input till the end => Cost-consciousness & Simplicity
- Write a plan and a behavioural commitment
For example: During coming month I’m invited to 4 meetings with key stakeholders and whom likely will hold presentations. For each calendar invitation, I will now record a reminder that I will keep myself cool and gather my input till the end.
- Seek recognition and feedback from others
It is much simpler to establish a new behaviour by having your new behaviour acknowledged by others. For example: I also record a reminder to afterwards actively seek feedback from my key stakeholders on my new behaviour.
- Review and fine-tune
Was this behaviour and plan successful, or are there things that needs to be fine-tuned?
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- Define the new behaviour you want, based on the IKEA key values
Creating one strong approach
A strong and sustainable movement is created when you combine values based nudging, routines & rituals and values based habits into one strong approach for individuals, teams and the organisation. This is how they fit into the culture model:
Source
Charles Duhigg, The Power of Habit, 2014