What's the "why" in your rules?

I was recently reminded of a former boss who had these 4 "rules" that became a running (half) joke at the time:

1. Get here on time.
2. Do your job.
3. Clean up after yourselves. 
4. Have fun while doing it. 

They were well-intentioned, referred to weekly, and posted. Seems simple enough. You might be surprised to learn that as simple as these rules seem, they were actually hard to follow. You see, in order for one person to abide by all 4 "rules," it required everyone to abide by them--and they all had to be defined exactly the same way by every person. 

To be fair, everyone loved this boss, including me--the "rules" were totally his style and true to who he was. But he set rules that worked for him. He worked a strict 8-5 day, had his own office in which he was responsible for his own work and his own messes, and every now and then he'd come out where everyone else was working to make a funny comment or share industry news, interrupting everyone because it was his way of "having fun while doing it" (he was good at Rule #4). Unfortunately, it wasn't fun for everyone. Some found it distracting and even felt it prohibited them from doing Rule #2 (their jobs). 

Looking back now, I think some of those "rules" held people back from growing. They didn't require anyone to be a team player, to understand what it means to be professional and represent oneself that way, to learn and grow and always strive to do something better--to make the workplace better for others. They were meant to keep everyone functioning in a way in which the boss was comfortable.

Supervisors, managers, directors, executives--whatever title you give those roles--these are the leaders who make the rules. But as leaders, it's their responsibility to establish rules that foster growth and help teams progress. And it's their responsibility to exemplify those rules and coach others in ways that support them. In really thinking about this and how those "rules" and the behaviors established by them affected us all, I decided to write my own. What do I want to instill and foster in others? What is meaningful to me that I want to pass on to my team?

Rule #1: Excellence earns ... (recognition, promotion, compensation)

I love recognizing when someone does really great work and being able to acknowledge and discuss it. And I love giving promotions and raises to those with excellent attitudes who demonstrate excellence in their work. Simply being nice or having longevity in a role or a singular excellent execution on something doesn't earn. You have to demonstrate excellence routinely. Listen when you're given feedback, consider how you can apply it and grow from it, offer solutions don't just complain about problems, participate in more things than you "have" to, and show that you want to grow. 

Rule #2: Think 360 

Don't just do your job, do what's right--consider the big picture and ask questions if you don't have enough knowledge of something. If we only ever focus on our own jobs and responsibilities, we're not doing our best. Thinking 360 means to consider all the factors related to our own roles and if we see an opportunity to make something better, we actually do something about it. How can I do my best for others? Which leads to Rule #3 ...

Rule #3: Set up others for success 

If you only do your job, how are you helping the next person in line? If you're writing an operational manual, does it make sense to someone who's brand new? Is there a plan in place to audit and update it so it stays relevant? And if you have the first step in a project, can the next person quickly see what you've done and move on or do they have to spend time understanding what you did before they can move forward? As the supervisor of people, if you have expectations of individuals, do they know what those expectations are?

Rule #4: We're all on the same team

Be respectful in your actions and words. Be solution-focused, not paralyzed by a problem and in search of somewhere to place blame. Teach each other and help each other to grow. Work together towards improvement all the time--there's opportunity for it in everything we do each day.

If the leaders within an organization don't all play by the same rules, people will be even less aligned. Behaviors and what's considered acceptable versus reward-able could be completely different, which doesn't make for a very cohesive culture.

But don't forget...

A wise person knows when and how to make the exception to every rule.