Good Behavior by Decree? « Sharing thoughts, ideas and suggestions on hardwiring success

Good Behavior by Decree? « Sharing thoughts, ideas and suggestions on hardwiring success
Quint Studer has some good advice about making a better workplace by establishing a standard of behavior for all, from the CEO on down to the temps. I commented, but those are awaiting moderation. In case they are not approved, here they are in their entirety:

I think the organization needs to agree upon a standard of behavior guideline and then allow departments to create specifics based on the standards. For example, how the Nursing staff implements those standards may look very different than how the IT Department implements them. One works on the floors with direct patient interaction (and public view), the other works in cubicles usually with little interaction with patients or public.

There are many situations where the behavior standards would be exactly the same across the board. For example, knocking before entering applies the same for Nursing as it does for IT. Other things though, like key words, are very different in these departments.

I believe the standard needs to be both rigid and flexible. Rigid in that these are the basic essentials we expect for everyone. Flexible in that each department may customize them differently. Again, some things will be the same across all departments; some will be unique.

Where I see the real problem, and think most people need help… is in implementing these standards in an organization where there have been no hard and fast rules previously. The change management is the difficult part. How do you enforce these things?

Quint Studer's advice is usually worth keeping. I don't know if he follows or understand cognitive behavioral psychology or Dr. William Glasser, but I know many of his ideas have their roots in Dr. Deming's work in Industrial Management. Glasser was a student of Deming, so there is a tie in here.

One of Quint's essential ideas is to create a need-satisfying workplace by promoting "worthwhile work" and the concept that what we do makes a difference in the lives of people. This works because it is need satisfying on many levels: power / significance, belonging and sometimes even freedom and fun.

I think this article works because we need rules to establish the expectations and the parameters within which we will behave. This gives workers their expected behaviors, while giving manager's a tool to work with.