We all know you can’t go back in time to change things. It is also true that the methods and expectations in the world are changing rapidly. We see articles about Employee Value Proposition (EVP), open workspaces, all this modern terminology, and happy people working for some of the companies we admire… yet… in many businesses all we hear is complaining and phrases like well that’s not my job, or that’s not agile, or that’s not how we have always done it. When you look at those companies’ visions, promises, and goals; they desire the same things as the companies that we consider admirable, so what is missing?
Quality
Accountability
Culture
Let’s take a minute to break these down.
Quality – Is defined as a Character or nature of Excellence, superiority, or something having essential or distinctive characteristics or attributes. That’s a pretty heavy load to carry. It also explains why when we ask people to name for us a product they like that has great quality, its hard to do. A lot of thought, care, and expectation goes into someone endorsing a product… And there is that word… Expectation; well will revisit that later.
Accountability – Accountable is defined as actions and obligations to explain, justify, report or be answerable to something. I mean we hold our kids and others accountable (sometimes), “Why did you write on that wall?”, “Did you think it was right to do what you did?”, We want justification, we want an answer. How should that be different at work. If I am hired to do a job, I know going in to the position that there is a minimal of “things” they want from me in order to make mone. It is that companies’ expectations of my behaviors and actions, yet, it feels many don’t have accountability for themselves anymore. Remember, “Its not my job?” yeah… right.
Culture – Is defined as the quality in a person or society that arises from what is considered excellent in their arts, manners, pursuits, or a stage of their civilization at that period… Well there is that word Quality again. We all love different things about other cultures across the world. That’s how cuisine became so popular and foodies were brought forth. The same goes for businesses. Once you see a great working culture within an organization, you crave that, you feel a part of something, and it makes the place you spend most of your time a lot more bearable, and guess what, for you individual contributors out there, it allows you to use the craft you worked so hard to learn. Would you rather research the best way to code something or be told you need to do this and put this period there, and no this line has to be written this way… where is the fun in that?
Many companies have a minimum foundation of each of the above, but aren’t following through on one or more of them. Leaders need to get engaged. A new wave needs to emerge to bring us back to how we changed the world so quickly in the past. Quality Culture!
Quality culture is what allows people to embrace change. It’s the period where you are hiring people not just because they have a set of skills, but because they are willing to try, they accept change, they don’t say I/we can’t, they lift others up and communicate, and they demonstrate the actions and behaviors of what we want to achieve. Managers then can go back to helping people learn and grow. This is sorely lacking in the tech world right now. For success, innovation, and growth to occur in such a competitive market, we have to be willing to pay now, not later. It costs less in time, energy and money, to do things earlier, and invest a little along the way. Instead we have left things alone for so long that its going to take a big investment to move forward, but once we do, the possibilities are endless! When people doing the work buy into your philosophy and use the actions and behaviors to support that goal accomplishment happens. Companies should expect this! Ugh oh there is that word again, “Expect”.
Expectation: I feel like I should just enunciate that word and walk away like it’s the number 42 and the answer to everything, but that wouldn’t really help get the point across. We all have expectations, some higher than others. At minimum though we associate expectation with value and with quality. Take a cheeseburger. If I go to a fast food restaurant to order a cheeseburger for $3; well I have fairly minimum expectations. I am just hoping I get the right one and that they remembered to remove the onion! If I walk into a high-end burger restaurant and order a $15 burger… well… the expectations just went way up. That thing better taste great, be done correctly, and have something tangible that gives it the value. Those are our requirements… our expectations.
Well using those same burgers as an example… something has happened in this world. Company cultures and values are not fostered, or cultivated regularly, and so the cashier may enter no onion, but the worker says oh, not my job, or I don’t get paid enough, or I just don’t care, and they leave the onion on… well if the customer doesn’t like onion, and this happens a lot… they are going to take their business elsewhere and that place gets a reputation for bad quality and experience, now over time their profits go down and they have an even harder time. On the other hand, if you really like that your $15 burger has avocado and bacon and a really great bun… value wise you are more likely to go there, and maybe the service is good, so you have a great experience. You will hold that burger and that restaurant in high regard. The little things do matter towards achieving the big things. We need to help everyone understand the expectations, we need to hold them accountable to them, and as leaders don’t just call out when its not happening, we should offer training, lead by example, and build the culture. Help people become quality individuals. Some people by nature are good at certain things, but if someone is willing to be coachable, you can teach them almost anything when you connect. Great companies and cultures don’t happen by accident. They are fostered and cultivated by quality individuals willing to continue learning, share experiences, and lead others.
Its time for leaders to help their groups get out of the mud. Stop worrying so much about the #’s or which methodology you are following and learn actual agility. Learn and share how to embrace, accept, and move forward with change. Change Is not accepted easily, but helping people understand the goals, the expectations will get people on board. They will feel the energy and benefit. If you have people talking about gaps, or people issues, or other things on surveys, don’t just assume they know what needs to be done and just need to do it. Survey comments are a last cry out from a customer or associate before they take drastic action, and if they take it on your dime, it could be costlier than you think.
Invest the time, the money, and the energy and I promise Quality culture will not let you down.
Until Next time…
Authentic Evolution Journey 