Page 234 - Build a Culture of Employee Engagement with the Principles

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Implementing the RESPECT Model

passes for respectful behavior changes over time. As new genera-
tions of employees enter the workforce, they will bring with them
different ideas about what it means to treat their team members
and supervisors with respect. For example, responding to text
and e-mail messages on mobile devices during a meeting seems
pretty disrespectful to me, but it has become widely accepted in
many organizations. I suggest that leaders become much more
explicit and intentional in communicating the culture of their
organization and their expectations regarding respectful behav-
ior. In fact, I strongly recommend that it become a component of
your new-hire orientation program. The following story serves
as an example of what can happen when you don’t do this and
how you can resolve it.

Story from the Trenches

Danny was an eager, bright-eyed computer guru whom I was
lucky enough to recruit as an intern one summer for ColorMe
Company. His first task was to fix our network, which I had patched
together. On his second day of work, Danny became frustrated and
began to swear. Although I understood his frustration, swearing
was just not part of our culture. The next morning I met with him
and said, “Danny, I need to apologize to you. When you started
here I did not take the time to share with you the kind of culture
we have and how important it is. Yesterday I overheard you swear-
ing, and that just isn’t acceptable here.” I then shared with him the
document that contained our corporate vision, mission, guiding
philosophical principles, and team rules. He apologized, and it was
never a problem again.

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