Linda here.

Last week I shared Steve Shurt’s “Seven Expectations”.  This blog is a continuation of his August 5, 2016 “Friday Philosophizing”.

Steve’s email referred to employee meetings that were held in March 2016.  He goes on to say:

“I thought a reminder of these expectations was a good way to start another Friday Philosophizing and fits well with a response I received from an employee to a previous email sent to our managers and supervisors.  The reply contained a quote “nailing” culture.  “The culture of any organization is shaped by the worst behavior the leader is willing to tolerate.” (Gruenter and Whitaker).  This employee went on to say:

We are all leaders, and it is our responsibility to positively influence the culture of our organization.  Creating or changing our culture can seem like a daunting task, however this quote reminds us that decisions we make every day are affecting our culture.  When we choose to “sweep things under the rug” we influence our culture and when we address issues that need to be addressed, we are also influencing our culture.  When we think about culture in this manner changes seem feasible, in fact, almost simple.  We just need to set the direction and ingrain those beliefs into our decision making processes and interactions with fellow employees.

First, I must say this employee really “got it”.  The employee understands why I’ll never take my foot off the pedal when it comes to driving what I believe are best practices on organizational culture.  So let’s go back to the quote.  “…culture…is shaped by the worst behavior the leader is willing to tolerate.”  Now look at the list above (My seven expectations of you).  Any behavior contrary to this list is behavior none of us should tolerate.”
Thanks Steve for sharing your August 5^th Friday Philosophizing with me and allowing me to share it with business owners all over the world who read my blog.Zappos is renowned for its’ culture.  Take a peek into their offices and hear what employees say about working there.