Last month’s discussion was around Bull’s coach Tom Thibideau and his advice on necessary habits for a winning team. Here’s the link if you didn’t catch it: CLICK HERE. This month I’d like to discuss the advent of a new bad habit that many professionals are developing: Personal Disconnection.
So many managers/leaders I know today are married to their electronic gadgets and social media. Starting before their morning coffee, to the last thing they check before bed, the possibilities of contact, connection and information flow are available in amounts and in ways we’ve never before experienced. You know this, we all know it. Just look around and see people oblivious to what is going on around them, EVEN WHEN THEY’RE DRIVING! Phoning. Texting. Surfing. Emailing. Downloading. Does anyone even look before crossing the street any more?
“So,” you say, “this is the world we live in. Where’s the Bad Habit?”
The non stop engagement of personal devices is a habit that demands you become less “present” and this personal disengagement can have dire consequences.
Battle Fatigue and Burnout
When you run 50 yard dashes, all day, every day, you are likely to experience burn out. Just like sprinters, the faster you go, the more breaks the body needs to recover. Each “calling” from a personal device is a little starting gun, winding you up and telling you, “On your mark, get set….” One question to explore is how to pace yourself around only necessary sprints.
Quality Will Suffer
What do most people need to produce quality? Space and focus. Ask yourself this: “What happens to your work and work habits when you are constantly distracted?” It’s obvious, the work suffers.
Incompleteness
Being incomplete is its own bad habit. This applies to personal relationships as well as your current “to do” list. Are constant interruptions from personal devices supporting you in your completions? Because if not, incompleteness compounds battle fatigue and works directly against the Current, Complete and Clear model of success.
Relationships may suffer
Perhaps the worst long-term affect of this habit is an inability to personally bond in a meaningful way. Not to deny the effectiveness of technologies, but are emails, texts, etc always the best way to build relationships with your clients, staff and partners? Are you, like so many, over reliant on what are effectively impersonal modes of communication? Or a better question: What habits can I start to build better communication.
If these are issues of yours or your employees, and would like to address some solutions, please call or email me directly.