Different Works

That’s how we’ve always done it.

A statement that has me starting the new week wondering about a different way.

Let me start by asking:

Does it make a difference when it is written down?

Do we need the piece of paper to make it true?

Do we need the document to make it happen?

Maybe.

What about when we KNOW it is in the hearts and minds of people.

What about when we SEE it in the behaviours.

What about when it is THE WAY things are done.

What if we get THE OUTCOMES we are seeking.

In these cases, what difference does the piece of paper make?

A cheeky question, perhaps.

There is, of course, value in writing it down. Documenting the why, what, how, who, when, where of our workplaces is important. It becomes a living, breathing embodiment of things to align and focus us, to drive us forward, to bind us together, to facilitate the pathway to the outcomes we seek, and to serve as our collective memory.

Too often though we have it upside down.

We seek the piece of paper as our outcome. We seek to tick the box. We hide behind the illusion that having it written down will solve our problems. We point to our nicely formatted documents that say all the right things and we collectively nod at how well we’ve done.

And,

We lament that it is NOT in the hearts and minds of people.

We are surprised that we do NOT see it in the behaviours.

We are frustrated that it is NOT simply the way things are done.

We do NOT get the outcomes we are seeking.

It’s time to flip how we do things.

Let’s get it happening, then we can write it down.

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