What you do makes the difference

Your impact on the world depends on moment-to-moment behaviors. Even the most pivotal successes have hinged on the small actions and conduct of individuals. As Pulitzer Prize-winning writer and historian Will Durant said: “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence is not an act, but a habit.”

Your behavior reflects who you are, and it can be fine-tuned to optimize impact. 

Your impact on the world depends on moment-to-moment behaviors. Even the most pivotal successes have hinged on the small actions and conduct of individuals. As Pulitzer Prize-winning writer and historian Will Durant said: “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence is not an act, but a habit.”

Not only does your behavior directly determine your productivity and the quality of your work, but it’s also the basis for building relationships. Remember to walk the talk—if your words are inconsistent with your actions, they can ring hollow and reduce credibility.

“Relationships drive everything that happens in an organization, be it good or bad. All decisions spring from relationships, as does the culture of the organization,” said Sherri Malouf, chair of the corporate consultancy Situation Management Systems Inc.

However, there’s virtually no one on earth whose behavior can be described as “perfect.” Everyone can slip into unproductive or harmful behaviors, just as everyone can slip out of them too.

Controlling behavior in high-stress situations 

Numerous studies have found that stress can reinforce bad behaviors. And the latest Stress in America report from March 2020 found that current events such as the pandemic, the war in Ukraine and economic turmoil have pushed stress to “alarming levels” unseen in the 15-year history of the poll.

Stress can also be a burden on people who are passionate about making an impact. Tight deadlines, rapid change and highly demanding environments can also give rise to counterproductive behaviors like micromanaging or not listening to others.

Stress and bad behavior can turn into a vicious circle that gives rise to a toxic and underperforming workplace. And it’s not uncommon. A recent survey exploring what’s behind the “Great Resignation” in the United States, found that toxic company culture was the number one reason people gave for quitting their jobs.

But there are ways to thrive under pressure and contribute to creating a healthy working environment in the process. One way is by boosting your behavioral fitness.

Behavioral fitness is about clearly understanding your default behaviors when willpower breaks down, and that usually requires asking others. For instance, judges would likely say that their default behavior when making parole decisions is to think clearly. Yet one prestigious study found that highly experienced judges were much more generous at the start of the day and after food breaks, but as the sessions wore on and hunger grew, favorable judgments dropped from 65% to 0%.

After gaining that knowledge, it requires working on the skills to help override those automatic bad behaviors. This cannot be done in a day and requires daily practice using science-based techniques.

“Behavioral fitness in the workplace is like physical fitness in the gym. You don’t get aerobically fit by running the treadmill a few times, and you don’t become a better listener by spending a few days listening more carefully in meetings,” wrote IE Business School Dean and Professor Lee Newman.

Research shows that habits are an important mechanism by which people self-regulate and achieve long-term goals. One study, for instance, found that when confronted with high-stress situations people revert more strongly to their habits—but those habits could be either positive or negative.

Inspiring good behavior in others 

Behavior is often contagious. Those in leadership positions, in particular, should be aware of that, as research has found that others within their organization often mimic their mood and behavior.

Leadership also holds the key to rooting out some of the most damaging behaviors in a workplace such as sexual harassment. Not only are leaders most often the ones leveraging their position to harass employees, but they can also create cultures that either facilitate sexual violence within an organization or hold people accountable.

On the flip side, to foster a culture that is both impactful and healthy, leaders can focus on designing workplace environments that bring out their colleagues’ best behaviors.

Positive leadership is about putting in place the conditions that enable teams and individuals to become more behaviorally fit. It’s about intentionally architecting workplaces that bring out more positive than negative emotions and behaviors, even in times of high stress.