It was late February in 2013, the team was exhausted, morale was low and inspiration was only visible on bus advertisements during the morning walk into work.
We needed something new.
We needed to create buzz.
We needed to inspire.
Why did we need something new?
The team was working around the clock to make an October 1, 2013 date to stand up the Connecticut State Based Marketplace (later branded as Access Health CT). This online marketplace is where Connecticut residents can go to for health coverage as part of the Affordable Care Act.
Influencing Organizational Behavior…One Bow Tie At A Time
Highlighting individualism is important when establishing a high performing team. If team members do not have the ability to stand out, net team performance takes a hit. For it’s when internal leaders rise within a team, that others notice. What results is above average performance across the board. When team performance is critical organizational behavior theories are probably not the first thing on your mind. However, recognizing the interface between human behavior and the organization opens the possibility that this type of thinking could help performance.
Typically organizational behavior theory can be separated into three areas:
- The study of individuals in organizations (micro-level)
- The study of work-groups in organizations (meso-level)
- The study of how organizations behave (macro-level)
Behavior of Leaders is Linked to Their Identity
We know from Chester Barnard that individuals behave differently when acting in their organizational role than when acting separately from the organization. Think for a minute. Are you most productive at work or are you most productive at home (non-work activities)? Why do you behave differently? Motive? Passion? Desire? Sense of Identity?
The importance here is being open to the theory that an individual’s ability to differentiate directly contributes to their behavior and results in performance gains organizationally.
What if I suggested that leadership behavior is related to a leader’s sense of identity. Transformational leadership theory supports this stating enhanced motivation and morale can occur by connecting the sense identity and self to the project and the collective identify of the organization.
Let’s enable differentiation, create a sense of identify and connect it to the identity of the organization while having a little fun!
Now On Stage The Bow Tie
On Wednesday February 27, 2013, I introduced Bow Tie Wednesday into our company culture. The idea was and continues to be that the last Wednesday of the month everyone wears a bow tie.
Did this matter to the project outcome? Maybe. Maybe not. What if the performance of one individual was impacted? What if the performance of fifty individuals was impacting? The real effect is hard to deduct. It did give a boost to morale and light the spark of innovation.
Even today on the last Wednesday of the month I sport my bow tie, proudly showing my individualism and commitment to the organization. Let’s Bring Back The Bow Tie!