Keystone habits, a term coined by Charles Duhigg (author of The Power of Habit), are habits that automatically lead to multiple positive behaviors and positive effects in your life. When you anchor your day or your week with such a habit, it becomes the keystone that has a ripple effect into your activities and behaviors.
“Keystone habits say that success doesn’t depend on getting every single thing right, but instead relies on identifying a few key priorities and fashioning them into powerful levers.” Charles Duhigg
Colleagues sometimes perceived Sven* as threatening. His direct, no-nonsense communication style made him a powerful and productive asset to the sales organization. Due to the global nature of his team, he’d be on calls as early as 6am and again at 8 or 9pm after a full days work. He prided himself on working hard, but his personal life suffered and he internalized much of his stress. Before coaching began he already implemented healthy changes to his diet but it wasn’t enough to prevent the sharper interactions he had with peers and even a direct confrontation with his boss. Over the course of our coaching engagement, Sven experimented with changes to his day, both by saying no to added meetings and engagements – like volunteer boards. But the real change occurred when he resumed swimming on a daily basis. Even if it was just 20 minutes, starting his day this way made all the difference. He had more energy, could think clearly, became better at prioritizing and he even slept better at night. At times when he was on the road for work, he’d stop swimming and immediately his stress levels rose. So honing in on exercise no-matter-what was essential as a keystone.
In time Sven was able to keep his calm under stress. His ability to listen more deeply and empathize with others increased. A key turning point was during a high stakes sales implementation. The tech team felt demoralized and bullied by the sales groups who promised the world without having to shoulder the intricacies of building it out. Sven focused on becoming an ally for the tech team, naming the issues, ensuring voices were heard and then became arbiter for a solution that worked for the customer, sales and tech teams. Because he was no longer under-water himself - well, at least now only intentionally - he had a sense of humor and had time to think through meaningful ways to connect and appreciate others. He was proactive rather than reactive and this allowed his sincerity and thoughtfulness to shine through. In the final days of implementation he gave chocolate to each member of the tech team with a hand written note saying thank you. His victory was felt by his immediate teams and was also noticed by the most senior leaders of the company who tapped him for even bigger and exciting projects. He was promoted a few months later.
*In any case study, names are changed for client confidentiality.