Day #702 - Rules of the Road

Structural and Social Wayfinding

My enjoyment of the most beautiful sunrise cycle ride with River into school this morning was curtailed by a car driving into us on the final roundabout. I had a relatively calm conversation with the driver who initially justified his actions - driving right through the cycle lane and into me - by saying ‘but I needed to turn left’. He was correct: he did need to turn left, but driving responsibly means understanding what everyone else is doing too, and using the road signs and markings to understand who has right of way. You can’t just do what you want.

Our Organisations have rules for culture, as well as cultural norms and in my current work on culture I account for both structural, and social way finding. Essentially the ways in which we are responsible drivers of our culture.

Use your sixty seconds today to consider a rule of your culture - something specific. Either a structural rule (like ‘password protect every file’, or ‘escort all visitors to the gate’), or a social one (we wash our own coffee mugs, and turn off the lights when our meeting ends).

What is your role in culture, as a leader? To enforce the rules, to live them? To write them? To help un-write them? Or something else?

I hope that you’ve had a great week, and look forward to the weekend ahead.