You jump on Zoom with a client, and everyone’s camera is on. If you come from an organization where the opposite happens, you might find it odd. Having a camera on during Zoom meetings is an unwritten rule in that organization.
There are dozens, if not hundreds, of these written rules in every company. In every team. Often, it is difficult to know what they are, especially if you are new to the organization.
To create an open and much more productive organization, you should change these rules from unwritten to written.
Let’s write the unwritten rules.
It’s OK To …
Company culture is a powerful force in every business. It’s built around norms and practices that have been honed over the years. These norms usually take the form of “It’s OK to…” and “That’s a No-No…” forms.
The culture survives in the minds of the people there, and when they leave, it leaves with them. To make your company culture persist, you should write down these norms and practices and make them visible in the business.
Let’s dive deeper into this practice:
- The benefits of the written rules.
- It’s OK To… rules.
- That’s a No-No… rules.
The Benefits Of Written Rules
A recent Google study of top performers found one trait that makes them stand out from everyone else: top performers ask questions. Scratch that. Top performers ask A LOT of questions.
Yet, when you hire new people, they often shy away from asking questions because they are afraid of looking stupid in front of their colleagues.
Making one specific rule known to new people, “Asking for feedback,” helped Google increase their productivity by 2%. That’s $400M saved every year.
Here are the benefits of written rules:
- Build morale.
- Reduce anxiety for new and existing employees.
- Mode desired behaviour.
- Encourage the adoption of company culture.
- Create a sense of belonging.
- It is a powerful recruitment tool.
One organization posted its Unwritten (Written) Rules on social media, and there was an immediate uptick in high-quality recruits applying for their open roles.
It’s OK To… Rules
Here is a list of some of the It’s OK To rules that will make your company culture great and increase productivity.
It’s OK to:
- Ask for help
- Offer to help
- Have days off
- Make mistakes
- Have down days
- Not know everything
- Ask why and why not
- Actively solicit feedback
- Say you don’t understand
- Skip an unrelated meeting
- Pick up your kid from school
- Have your camera off on a call
- Not to check your emails after hours
- Block off no-meeting time on your calendar
- Shift your hours to take care of family commitments
These are just a start… What unwritten rules do you have at work that you should write down.
That’s a No-No… Rules
The opposite of the It’s OK To rules is the That’s a No-No list. Sometimes, you have to spell these things out to people.
That’s a No-No:
- Being rude
- Interrupting people
- Share client information
- Send angry emails to anyone
- Always assume you’re right
- Taking credit for other people’s work
- Gossiping and spreading rumours
- Talk about sensitive information outside of work
What No-No rules would you add?
Today’s Action Steps
Writing the unwritten rules has a lot of benefits, and you should take a stab at it whether you’re a boss or not. Here’s how to do it:
- Talk to your team about unwritten rules.
- Ask each person to write down what they think the unwritten rules are.
- Compile the list and pick out the common and uncommon ones.
- Ask team members to vote on your Top 10, Top 20, and Top 30.
- Make the lists and create a cool infographic.
- Share it with everyone.
- Post it on social media
- Print it out and hang it.
Do the same thing with the That’s a No-No list.
Outro
Writing down your unwritten rules at work and sharing them with everyone creates a better and more welcoming workplace. The business benefits from higher productivity and higher profits.
It’s the one win that has no downsides.
—
And that’s all for this week.
See you next Monday.
P.S. I’d love to hear what challenges you are facing in your business. What can I write about to help you personally?
Reply back to this email to let me know.