Do You Really Know The Norms?

So, you've got a sense of the culture in your organization. Good.

It's time to go one level deeper and begin to see clearly the norms that come together to create that culture. If norms influence the culture, then you need to be aware of how to influence the norms.

Norms are rules that a group uses to define its appropriate and inappropriate values, beliefs, attitudes and behaviors. The catch: Those rules may be explicit or implicit. And those unspoken norms will bite you every time if you don't find out what they are.

Norms are so important that a failure to stick to the rules can result in severe punishment, the most feared of which is exclusion from the group. A common rule is that some norms must frequently be displayed; neutrality is seldom an option. Think about what "business casual" means in your company. Khakis and a golf shirt? Logo shirt? Jacket without a tie?

Your Norm Checklist

To help you and your colleagues identify norms, here are five very specific categories:

1. Explicit Norms are written or spoken openly.

2.  Personal Norms: Standards we hold regarding our own actions.

3. Injunctive Norms: Behaviors perceived as being approved of by other people.

4. Subjective Norms: Expectations that "valued others" hold as to how we will behave.

 5. Implicit Norms: Not stated openly; however, you'll find out quickly when you break one!

Norms can be conveyed  by non-verbal behavior such as silence or 'dirty looks' in response to an unspoken norm having been broken. They may also be passed along through stories, rituals and role-model behavior. In Japan, new employees are assigned a mentor who, over time, passes along the company's norms by sharing stories about people, situations, and the outcomes. No employee manual needed here; simply the storytelling of a more experienced employee.

What to Do

• Identify the rules you put on other people  as a condition for being in your group. Are these productive or convenient?

 

• What rules have the group put on you? Are they productive or convenient? Are there any which are particularly bothersome and unproductive?

What would happen if you made the implicit explicit? 

 

Comments

[SeaAngel]

It's the implicit(unspoken or unwritten) norms that drive me nuts. Not that I have difficulty grasping these, it's just that too often a time, these norms are what causes the friction between colleagues in the workplace.

[Daniel Rose]

I love the concept of making the implicit explicit, great!

[Steve Roesler]

Sea Angel & Daniel

Thanks for weighing in. And, indeed, it's always what you 'don't' see that gets you (think of the Titanic and the bottom of the iceberg!

[Ian]

I agree with what you're saying here Steve, and I like the idea of making the implicit explicit. All the norms you describe are really just restraining forces preventing people from being as productive and creative as they can be. My followup question would be: where do these norms come from? Are they just perpetuated from the original founders of the organization, or are there "sub-norms" created by middle managers in different departments that can spread from place to place?

[Steve Roesler]

Ian

You are onto the underlying solution to such issues. Asking those very questions in workgroups leads to the revelations needed to uncover what no longer makes sense & begins an intentional, explicit discussion about what explicit norms would serve the group well.

Thanks, Ian

[Gina]

I think this is why we have so many people who are fake. They are afraid to be themselves. What if they do something that crosses the line for someone else? What they view as okay- isn't so for someone else. Most people tread lightly when it comes to being themselves. Then there are those that let it all hang out- they are in every job- we all know who they are.

[Steve Roesler]

Hi Gina

Well taken. If we don't know the real rules then we tend to fake it, eh?

At least the ones who let it all hang out (and we know who they are:-) can tend to provide amusement at times!

[Derek Irvine, Globoforce]

Great post, Steve. It's like I've written about in regards to company values.

The problem arises when a company has its STATED values (on a plaque on the wall, coffee mugs, ID badges) that are entirely different from the demonstrated and TOLERATED values. Regardless of the STATED values, it's the TOLERATED values around which the culture is formed.

The most effective way to merge STATED and TOLERATED values is also the most positive -- through strategic recognition. This is "after the fact" recognition that catches employees behaving in the right way, and then specifically calls them out for it. In a formal recognition program, we strongly recommend using your company values as the reasons for recognition and then allow anyone in the organization to formally recognize anyone else.

[Steve Roesler]

Hello, Derek

Indeed, your observation of the trumping power of TOLERATED values is the sticky issue for organizations of all types. Your focused efforts at Globoforce to help companies quickly reinforce the right things provide genuine value. Kudos on the biz focus and thanks for weighing in!