Say Goodbye to These 5 'Harmless' Team Habits This Year

Because the bad behaviors your team tolerates become the standard.

Jimi Malmberg / Unsplash

The new year is the perfect time for your team to reflect on their habits and behaviors – particularly those that are overlooked. Small slips, often dismissed as ‘harmless,’ gradually erode trust, collaboration, and productivity until it becomes too late.

As a teamwork consultant, I frequently witness how minor misdeeds become normalized and tolerated. Whether it's the CEO's regular tardiness to meetings or a top performer consistently multitasking during a call, bad habits send the wrong message to team players.

Here’s how to say goodbye to these ‘harmless’ habits.

1. Arriving Late to Meetings

As a former CEO juggling back-to-back meetings, arriving a few minutes late seemed like a small, often-unavoidable concession. However, over time, I realized I was sending the wrong message to my team.

We often dismiss the importance of punctuality because it feels uncool, unlike flexibility. However, showing up on time has nothing to do with rigidity but with productivity – …