Thisarticlewas originally published byBuilt In.
The old way of working is dead.
Its death throes began decades ago, and the COVID-19 shake-up has slammed the lid on the coffin.
In a world of flux, weallhave to be 24/7 learners, innovators and collaborators.
Many leaders dont even realize these old-school dynamics are at play in their company.
And if they do, they may not know how dangerous they are.
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I call this hyper-learning, and it requires leaders to lead in a way that encourages this to happen.
My new book,Hyper-Learning,identifies seven foundational behaviors that are necessary for people to be hyper-learners.
Theyre a good yardstick for any organization.
If you dont see these seven behaviors in action, you dont have an innovative culture.
The proof is in how people act every single day.
This means people have a quiet ego and are open-minded and good at not knowing things.
They dont reflexively defend, deny or deflect when someone challenges them.
They are willing to change their position when they get better evidence.
They control their negative emotions and rarely fly off the handle.
Red Flags: A person who cant manage self always has to be right.
Others may describe them as defensive, arrogant, judgmental or super-opinionated.
A person who frequently interrupts people or who multitasks while listening to others.
A person who behaves in disrespectful ways or cant control their emotions.
A person who raises their voice or who glares at people.
Behavior 2: Otherness
No one achieves success by themselves.
Otherness is a behavior behaving in ways that show they respect the human dignity of the other person.
Success in the Digital Age will require otherness.
A competitive survival-of-the-fittest mindset will be the quickest pathway to failure.
This persons biggest competition in the Digital Age will be themselves, not others.
Red Flags:A person who rarely asks others for help.
A person who believes he is better than most people.
A person who views each conversation as a win-lose, zero-sum game.
A person who will not prevent someone from doing something wrong because they want them to fail.
A person who gossips negatively about others.
A positive emotional work environment comes about because people bring their positive emotions to the conversation.
They behave in respectful ways to others even if they disagree with what is being said.
They express gratitude often (i.e., thank you, I appreciate that, or you are kind).
Red Flags: People who are rude to each other.
People who use body language that says,I am not really listening to youorI am dominant.
People who put down others.
People who are closed-minded or not engaged.
People who are constantly interrupting or raising their voices and moving forward, getting ready to attack verbally.
Behavior 4: Effective collaboration
This begins with leaders.
Theyknow howto set up meetings so that people feel psychologically safe to join in.
During meetings, people are fully present, attentive and connected to each other.
Everyone gets to speak.
Red Flags: The highest-ranking people dominate and aggressively push their views.
Meetings are not genuine open discussions.
Instead, the answer is predetermined, and the real goal is consent and compliance.
Some people dont speak up at all.
Too often, critiques get personal.
Behavior 5: Reflective listening
People who exhibit this behavior allow others to talk.
They reframe what they think the other person is saying to verify they understand.
They ask clarifying questions before telling, advocating or disagreeing.
When they do disagree, they critique the idea, not the person.
Red Flags: People dont make eye contact.
They multitask during meetings.
They are great tellers, not listeners.
Their egos are wrapped up in showing the speaker that they are the smartest person in the room.
That takes courage: the courage to try.
A person with courage is willing to experiment, even though they know they might fail.
They also understand that most learning comes from having conversations with people who have different views.
They dont mind having respectful but difficult conversations.
Youll find them volunteering for new projects, openly sharing their views, and asking for lots of feedback.
Red Flags: People are unwilling to take risks.
They seem guarded and closed-lipped.
Because they fear making mistakes or looking bad, they rarely step out of their comfort zone.
They are more open-minded.
They seem to get the statement I am not my ideas on a deep level.
Red Flags: People defend their ideas even when theres no data to support them.
They are invested in being right.
If you see most of these seven foundational behaviors in action, youre on the right track.
If you see a lot of red flags, youre in trouble.
The good news is that people can change their behaviors.
It takes a lot of intentional work.
