Agreements Create Trust

From Personal Development to Workforce Integration

My journey with the "Agreements Culture" began not in the boardrooms or on the factory floors, but within the transformative spaces of personal development, specifically through my involvement with the Mankind Project. This model, a cornerstone in those personal development circles, revealed its profound power in reshaping lives and relationships. I've facilitated and witnessed its incredible impact on individuals who were out of alignment with their core values, struggling in their relationships with spouses, children, colleagues, and friends.

In the intimate setting of personal development workshops, I saw men and women grapple with the consequences poor integrity and accountability. The Agreements Model I learned offered people a framework for them to confront and realign their actions with their true values. The transformations were often staggering – men who had been lost, disconnected from their loved ones or adrift in their personal and professional lives, found a new sense of purpose and direction. They learned to make and uphold agreements, not just as a formality, but as a profound commitment to themselves and those around them. And their trustworthiness levels increased exponentially creating more opportunities and connection with others.

Bridging the Model to the Workplace

Encouraged by these personal transformations in the real world, I introduced the Agreements Model into the workplace when I was an EPCM Construction Manager building mine site infrastructure. The parallels between personal integrity and professional accountability were strikingly clear. Just as individuals had turned their personal lives around by being true to their word, I witnessed similar transformations in professional settings.

When I joined the Ravensthorpe Nickel Project in 2007, I encountered a deeply troubled operation. The project, suffering from inefficiency and disengagement, was on the brink of closure, eventually shutting down in 2008 and being sold off in 2011. I was tasked with managing a Tank Rubber Lining contract that was in complete disarray, with a highly unionised workforce disillusioned and concerned about the lack of accountability they perceived from management.

In this challenging atmosphere, I tentatively applied the personal development techniques I had mastered outside of the workplace, introducing the Agreements Model to the crew. This approach shifted the focus from a culture of blaming the company to one where they recognised the need for change within themselves. They started viewing their roles through a lens of personal responsibility and reliability, understanding the significance of their commitments to the team's collective well-being, which was in line with their union views, thankfully.

It was remarkable how this shift led to the workforce actively embracing accountability, challenging the management's approach not out of defiance but empowerment. They moved from being passive participants to proactive agents-of-change, demonstrating how personal responsibility and ownership can transform even the most challenging workplace environments. They successfully completed the contract, reining in the deficits in the schedule.

In my next article I will provide the insights I learned in "Defining Agreements" that work crews buy into. From this perspective, an agreement is far more than a simple handshake or a verbal promise. It's a foundational element that builds trust and cooperation within a team or organisation. An agreement, at its core, is a mutual understanding and a commitment to a set of expectations, goals, or behaviours. It's not just about the words spoken or the document signed: it's about the shared understanding and the intent behind those words.

Next Article: Defining Agreements Gets Buy-in