Cultivating Habits for Teams

The one thing we can learn from the Linkedin "grindset” is the power of cultivating habits.

Jul 3, 2023

Chances are, you’ve come across the "grindset” - LinkedIn gurus sharing their daily schedules and encouraging everyone to "stay on the grind, all the time." Although relentlessly pushing oneself may not be viable in the grand scheme of things, there is a valuable concept from these narratives that deserves our attention: the power of cultivating habits.

Habits are crucial for building a well-functioning team. Picture a machine where its gears are spinning at different speeds, with no way to slow them down or align them. That machine would break faster than fine porcelain! Habits can be seen as a way to synchronise your team's speed and motion so that everyone can move forward together.

Habits - What are they and why are they great?

Habits are simply tendencies or actions that occur regularly or instinctively. At the individual level, habits can be as simple as waking up at the same time every day, exercising regularly, practising gratitude journaling, or engaging in weekly socialising. In a company, habits manifest in different ways. From karaokes, to check-ins, and everything in between, these form the foundations of habits you can build at the workplace.

To illustrate the concept of habits more effectively, let's explore some tangible examples of how real companies are currently putting them into practice:

Focus Time: At Microsoft, employees have developed the habit of booking "focus times." Amid constant meetings and distractions, having dedicated time for focusing on individual tasks has been incredibly useful for the team.
Semi-Annual Retreats: At Doist, a remote-first company, employees go on retreats twice-a-year. This habit of pushing teams towards bonding beyond work has resulted in their teams working better together, not to mention the social benefits of connecting with their coworkers as well.
Weekly Retrospectives: Teams at Chameleon run weekly retrospective meetings to discuss issues, challenges, and successes for the upcoming week. This habit is a great way to touch base with team members and leverage the expertise of the whole team!

Building Habits from the Ground Up!

With that being said, building habits takes a lot of effort, and it's not always clear how to go about it. Here are some tips to get you started. James Clear's book "Atomic Habits" outlines four laws for affecting behavioural change.

Make it obvious: Create cues or triggers to remind you and your team to engage in the habit. Use notifications, reminders, or keep objects in plain view.
Make it attractive: Assign a positive emotion to the habit, making it enjoyable or fun to engage in.
Make it easy: Break the habit down into smaller, manageable pieces so that you and your team don't feel overwhelmed and give up halfway through.
Make it satisfying: Reward yourself and your team every time a habit is completed, and celebrate every achievement. It gives your team a sense of pride in what they have accomplished!

By following these laws, you will be on your way to building sustainable and beneficial habits that will supercharge your team.

Verve as your sidekick!

This is where Verve comes in. As a tool that automates your busywork and activities, Verve can make habits obvious, attractive, easy, and satisfying. For example, you can use Verve to set reminders for yourself. You can set up weekly mini-games to automatically prompt your team to engage at a regular time. You can even automate giving kudos to your team to encourage a habit of recognition in the workplace. Verve's well-designed, interactive, and satisfying UI makes it a pleasure to use.

Verve has your back when it comes to cultivating positive workplace habits. So, the next time you stumble upon one of those LinkedIn posts from "Dylan | Forbes 30Under30, Advisor, Educator, Entrepreneur, Motivational Speaker, Public Speaker," just remember that with Verve, you can achieve the same results with a fraction of the effort.

Chances are, you’ve come across the "grindset” - LinkedIn gurus sharing their daily schedules and encouraging everyone to "stay on the grind, all the time." Although relentlessly pushing oneself may not be viable in the grand scheme of things, there is a valuable concept from these narratives that deserves our attention: the power of cultivating habits.

Habits are crucial for building a well-functioning team. Picture a machine where its gears are spinning at different speeds, with no way to slow them down or align them. That machine would break faster than fine porcelain! Habits can be seen as a way to synchronise your team's speed and motion so that everyone can move forward together.

Habits - What are they and why are they great?

Habits are simply tendencies or actions that occur regularly or instinctively. At the individual level, habits can be as simple as waking up at the same time every day, exercising regularly, practising gratitude journaling, or engaging in weekly socialising. In a company, habits manifest in different ways. From karaokes, to check-ins, and everything in between, these form the foundations of habits you can build at the workplace.

To illustrate the concept of habits more effectively, let's explore some tangible examples of how real companies are currently putting them into practice:

Focus Time: At Microsoft, employees have developed the habit of booking "focus times." Amid constant meetings and distractions, having dedicated time for focusing on individual tasks has been incredibly useful for the team.
Semi-Annual Retreats: At Doist, a remote-first company, employees go on retreats twice-a-year. This habit of pushing teams towards bonding beyond work has resulted in their teams working better together, not to mention the social benefits of connecting with their coworkers as well.
Weekly Retrospectives: Teams at Chameleon run weekly retrospective meetings to discuss issues, challenges, and successes for the upcoming week. This habit is a great way to touch base with team members and leverage the expertise of the whole team!

Building Habits from the Ground Up!

With that being said, building habits takes a lot of effort, and it's not always clear how to go about it. Here are some tips to get you started. James Clear's book "Atomic Habits" outlines four laws for affecting behavioural change.

Make it obvious: Create cues or triggers to remind you and your team to engage in the habit. Use notifications, reminders, or keep objects in plain view.
Make it attractive: Assign a positive emotion to the habit, making it enjoyable or fun to engage in.
Make it easy: Break the habit down into smaller, manageable pieces so that you and your team don't feel overwhelmed and give up halfway through.
Make it satisfying: Reward yourself and your team every time a habit is completed, and celebrate every achievement. It gives your team a sense of pride in what they have accomplished!

By following these laws, you will be on your way to building sustainable and beneficial habits that will supercharge your team.

Verve as your sidekick!

This is where Verve comes in. As a tool that automates your busywork and activities, Verve can make habits obvious, attractive, easy, and satisfying. For example, you can use Verve to set reminders for yourself. You can set up weekly mini-games to automatically prompt your team to engage at a regular time. You can even automate giving kudos to your team to encourage a habit of recognition in the workplace. Verve's well-designed, interactive, and satisfying UI makes it a pleasure to use.

Verve has your back when it comes to cultivating positive workplace habits. So, the next time you stumble upon one of those LinkedIn posts from "Dylan | Forbes 30Under30, Advisor, Educator, Entrepreneur, Motivational Speaker, Public Speaker," just remember that with Verve, you can achieve the same results with a fraction of the effort.

Chances are, you’ve come across the "grindset” - LinkedIn gurus sharing their daily schedules and encouraging everyone to "stay on the grind, all the time." Although relentlessly pushing oneself may not be viable in the grand scheme of things, there is a valuable concept from these narratives that deserves our attention: the power of cultivating habits.

Habits are crucial for building a well-functioning team. Picture a machine where its gears are spinning at different speeds, with no way to slow them down or align them. That machine would break faster than fine porcelain! Habits can be seen as a way to synchronise your team's speed and motion so that everyone can move forward together.

Habits - What are they and why are they great?

Habits are simply tendencies or actions that occur regularly or instinctively. At the individual level, habits can be as simple as waking up at the same time every day, exercising regularly, practising gratitude journaling, or engaging in weekly socialising. In a company, habits manifest in different ways. From karaokes, to check-ins, and everything in between, these form the foundations of habits you can build at the workplace.

To illustrate the concept of habits more effectively, let's explore some tangible examples of how real companies are currently putting them into practice:

Focus Time: At Microsoft, employees have developed the habit of booking "focus times." Amid constant meetings and distractions, having dedicated time for focusing on individual tasks has been incredibly useful for the team.
Semi-Annual Retreats: At Doist, a remote-first company, employees go on retreats twice-a-year. This habit of pushing teams towards bonding beyond work has resulted in their teams working better together, not to mention the social benefits of connecting with their coworkers as well.
Weekly Retrospectives: Teams at Chameleon run weekly retrospective meetings to discuss issues, challenges, and successes for the upcoming week. This habit is a great way to touch base with team members and leverage the expertise of the whole team!

Building Habits from the Ground Up!

With that being said, building habits takes a lot of effort, and it's not always clear how to go about it. Here are some tips to get you started. James Clear's book "Atomic Habits" outlines four laws for affecting behavioural change.

Make it obvious: Create cues or triggers to remind you and your team to engage in the habit. Use notifications, reminders, or keep objects in plain view.
Make it attractive: Assign a positive emotion to the habit, making it enjoyable or fun to engage in.
Make it easy: Break the habit down into smaller, manageable pieces so that you and your team don't feel overwhelmed and give up halfway through.
Make it satisfying: Reward yourself and your team every time a habit is completed, and celebrate every achievement. It gives your team a sense of pride in what they have accomplished!

By following these laws, you will be on your way to building sustainable and beneficial habits that will supercharge your team.

Verve as your sidekick!

This is where Verve comes in. As a tool that automates your busywork and activities, Verve can make habits obvious, attractive, easy, and satisfying. For example, you can use Verve to set reminders for yourself. You can set up weekly mini-games to automatically prompt your team to engage at a regular time. You can even automate giving kudos to your team to encourage a habit of recognition in the workplace. Verve's well-designed, interactive, and satisfying UI makes it a pleasure to use.

Verve has your back when it comes to cultivating positive workplace habits. So, the next time you stumble upon one of those LinkedIn posts from "Dylan | Forbes 30Under30, Advisor, Educator, Entrepreneur, Motivational Speaker, Public Speaker," just remember that with Verve, you can achieve the same results with a fraction of the effort.