Do We Mean the Same Thing?
One of the things I’ve learned to pay attention to when working with a company is what happens to the language after the staff meeting ends.
A leader talks about accountability, ownership or being a team player. Everyone nods. The meeting ends.
Then the eye rolls start.
Sometimes the terminology gets mocked. Other times I’ll use the same language in a private conversation with an employee and get an immediate reaction.
When that happens, I pay attention.
I don’t assume the employee has a bad attitude or that leadership is out of touch. I try to understand the disconnect.
Accountability is probably the word where I see this most often.
To one person, accountability means doing what you said you were going to do and being willing to answer for the result.
To someone else, accountability means getting called into the boss’s office when something goes wrong.
Neither definition appeared out of nowhere. People bring experiences from previous employers, managers and workplaces with them.
The same thing happens with words like ownership, team player, open-door policy and flexible work schedule.
We use these terms as though everyone has agreed on what they mean.
Often, we haven’t.
We can spend a lot of time trying to change behavior when we haven’t established a common understanding of the behavior we’re asking for.
When I find that disconnect, I start by making sure we agree on what the word actually means.
If we’re going to talk about accountability, let’s establish what accountability means in this organization. If we want employees to take ownership, let’s make sure they understand what ownership actually gives them the authority to do.
Then we can determine whether the behavior matches the expectation.
Defining the words doesn’t magically change the culture.
Calling something an open-door policy doesn’t make employees comfortable walking through the door. Defining accountability doesn’t create accountability. And putting a set of values on the wall doesn’t make them true.
The actions still have to match the words.
But it’s difficult to hold someone accountable to an expectation they don’t understand the same way you do.
Sometimes what looks like a culture problem, an attitude problem or even a performance problem starts with something much simpler.
We’re using the same words.
We just don’t mean the same thing.
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