How to Elevate Expectations in the Workplace

What do you do about the weird stuff at work?

Managers often have to take on a little bit more than simply managing in the workplace, especially when personal lines get crossed. Some equate it to parenting and while I wouldn’t go quite that far, it’s a fine line. And most of the time, it’s pretty straightforward. Someone crosses a line, you tell them why that’s against policy and what happens if they keep doing it, and that’s the end of it.

But what about behavior that’s not necessarily against policy ... but is still really weird?

Over the past few years I’ve heard more and more about team members doing things that aren’t wrong on the level of harassment, or anything else your HR department probably has a training on, but are still not the level of behavior you’d want in the workplace. (It’s not just in the workplace, by the way – rudeness is on the rise everywhere.)

Things like digging through their co-worker’s desk, or walking around the office barefoot, or backbiting among teams, rather than celebrating each other's successes. You know, the kinds of things that have you as a manager thinking, “Wait, do I actually have to specify this?” The answer is ... kind of. 😬 And let me be clear, we all do weird things but when it crossed the line and impacts other people it's a good time to intervene.

While you of course can’t contingency plan for every single thing someone might do, you can set expectations of behavior.

Here’s my top three tips for bringing out your team’s best behavior:

Create a culture doc, and refer to it often

Strong organizational cultures don’t happen by accident, they’re carefully built and maintained. If you haven’t put a lot of thought into articulating the culture you want up until now, this is a great time to get that out of your head and onto a piece of paper.

Work with your team to create a clear picture of the kind of culture you all want to work in, and then include that in your training manual. Get specific on what kinds of things are supportive of that culture – for example, being positive with each other, having each other’s back, celebrating good news – and which are not, like backbiting, treating the office like your personal living room, failing to respect each other’s privacy.

Make the doc easily accessible, and bring it up regularly so people have reminders on exactly  what’s expected of them. Similarly, any time you have someone onboard, make sure to train them in your culture just as seriously as you would in any other area of their work. 

Remove your detractors, and hire carefully

One negative person can really bring your team down, so don’t hesitate to move someone off your team if they’re not interested in participating in the culture you’ve created. Managers often hesitate to take this step, because they feel like it might be going too far, but a lot of times your team is just sitting on their hands waiting for you to take action! It’s a win-win: you’re no longer having to manage detractors, and your team isn’t stuck wondering why you’re making them work with a jerk.

The flip side of this is careful hiring. Screen potential team members for alignment with your values and motivation towards your goals, and share your expectations with them. If someone seems like they might not align well with your core values, you should seriously consider passing them over, even if their other qualifications are solid.

Be consistent

You can’t just state your behavior expectations once a quarter and then expect people to get on board, you need to make it an everyday part of your work. Look for ways that you can incorporate regular culture training into your meetings, or even as a standing part of people’s workweek.

And of course, lead by example. If you have a stated set of values and behaviors and you do something that runs contradictory to that, your team is going to see what you really value, and ignore any kind of culture doc you’ve created. 

Need some support creating your culture, or re-orienting your team after some bad habits have crept in? I’m here to help. Find out how we can work together here learn about training here.