This time, it’s decided: everything’s going to change. It’s Monday; it’s the perfect time to get started. Alas! It’s already half past eleven and all those routines you’d had enough of are back in full swing. Here we go again! Don’t be too hard on yourself. It’s not a question of who you are, but of how you go about things. Discover the research-backed methods that show that to change, you might need to start by changing the way you think… and then the way you act.
Almost every Monday morning, many managers make the same promise to themselves: no more pointless meetings! It’s time to delegate tasks more effectively so they can finally have a calmer week. And yet, by midday, the to-do list has grown, Slack is buzzing, and the much-anticipated new way of working has already been forgotten. This is followed by a new resolution: “I don’t have time today; I’ll really get started next Monday.”
And the same scenario plays out week after week, reinforcing the idea that change is impossible. Yet nothing could be further from the truth. If change fails, it is because we misunderstand its true nature and, consequently, the means required to achieve it. Lasting change does not begin by adding further constraints to those that already exist, but by truly letting go.
When perseverance turns into obstinacy
However, this necessary mindset comes up against deeply ingrained beliefs held by many managers. Team leaders value perseverance. It is part of their training and the culture of their profession. Yet perseverance, whilst a virtue, can quickly become a flaw when it turns into obstinacy – that mindset which maintains pointless routines at any cost: from recurring meetings that nobody needs, to the production of reports that nobody reads, and approval loops that slow down decision-making. They remain in place because abandoning them would amount to admitting that putting them in place was a mistake. And yet it is well known that errare humanum est, perseverare diabolicum.
It is therefore necessary to change one’s perspective, one’s mindset. Far from being a step backwards, letting go can be strategic. To do this, one must learn from what one is letting go of, know how to sort through things to keep what has worked and, above all, distinguish perseverance from obstinacy.
Manage it better or give up?
For example, should we keep or scrap the weekly progress meeting for the various projects, when we no longer know who introduced it or what its actual purpose is? If it has become counterproductive, don’t waste your time trying to ‘manage it better’. Keep the function (sharing information, breaking deadlocks) and ditch the ritual. Replace it, for example, with an asynchronous update and set aside a short period of time dedicated solely to decision-making. This doesn’t mean you’re doing less; you’re freeing up time to establish new habits that will improve the quality of your team’s work.
The same logic applies to disagreements or a sluggish team dynamic. When certain behaviours become repetitive, changing the circumstances often works more quickly than having the same conversation over and over again: shift the focus of the discussion, change the pace, rearrange the steps, and then observe how quickly the team’s ‘habits’ change.
Let go of the illusion of perfectionism
The workplace is not an environment that can be fully controlled. Deadlines change, priorities are constantly competing with one another, and energy levels fluctuate. In this everyday environment, managers paradoxically continue to expect change to be linear and to indulge in a form of perfectionism that is ill-suited to the situation.
The concept of optimality, developed in particular by Tal Ben-Shahar, would be more appropriate. From this perspective, I suggest tackling this disconnect head-on: when reality changes, habits must adapt.
It is therefore essential to ‘normalise’ the restart, by focusing on what is immediately achievable and reducing the cost of backtracking. This means viewing potential setbacks as part of the process rather than as a sign, or worse still, as proof, of an inability. A manager must be able to tell their teams that they are temporarily trialling a new way of working.
This is particularly true of team routines. If they fail, it is rarely because ‘people don’t care’, as we all too often hear. They fail because the pressure mounts and a single misstep becomes a huge deal. The answer lies in iteration: prototyping, adjusting, seeking feedback, and starting again instead of waiting for the perfect moment.
How can we keep the momentum going?
Whilst giving up frees up time, starting again helps you maintain your momentum. The question that remains, then, is how to develop habits that can withstand the realities of the workplace: deadlines, interruptions, stress, internal political issues…
The research identified three categories of levers:
- Power encourages structuring, starting - if necessary - with small steps, within the framework of formalised priorities.
- Move relies on regularity and continuity, but also on the support of others, in line with one’s own momentum.
- Shift refers to a ‘positive’ mindset, as it involves changing whilst taking pleasure in the process, balancing determination and flexibility within oneself.
For managers, the message is clear: stop treating work habits as private disciplinary issues. Start viewing them as issues of individual approach and methodology within a team.
The issue of delegation illustrates why this is so important. A leader or manager may wish to delegate, but then revert to taking control when the stakes rise. ‘Move’ therefore involves introducing a degree of oversight to encourage autonomy rather than surveillance. ‘Shift’ involves identifying the underlying emotion behind this relapse: behind the imposition of rules often lies a form of disguised anxiety.
The illusion of over-motivation
A lack of time or resources can also derail the establishment of positive routines or habits due to excessive pressure. This is the realm of the excuses you’ve heard before, such as ‘yes, but I don’t have the time’, ‘wanting to change was a mistake and I decided to give up’ and so on. The antidote to these situations is not to be found in often hollow motivational speeches, but in putting effective mechanisms in place.
When you want to change a habit, don’t be afraid to check in regularly and note down the small, visible successes. Changing habits doesn’t happen by magic; it requires a systematic approach, organisation and perseverance.
Overall, the method I describe is simple and can be summarised in three points:
- stop when you mean to,
- know how to start again without making a fuss
- and rethink your routines to suit the system you actually work in.
Because pressure and change are not the exception. They have become the norm in organisations.
This article by Julia Milner, Professor of Leadership at EDHEC Business School, has been initially republished in French from The Conversation under a Creative Commons licence. Read the original article.
