Need a Mindset Squirt of WD-40?

Need a Culture Boost?: Building Extraordinary and Adaptive Cultures Course Available Now!

What It’s About: About a decade ago, I wrote a book called the Character Triangle. That triangle included three core values: Self-accountability, Respect and Abundance. I stand by these today more than ever, and want to focus on self-accountability!

I often give leaders a hard time for not establishing conditions for people to thrive. However, I also want to challenge followers at every level to do their part as well. Too often I hear a chorus of complaining how their organization needs to do more for them. Well, before we do that, I’m asking all of us to look in the mirror.

So What?: The best companies put a self-accountability expectation out there. Remember that everyone, from the CEO down, is an employee. One of my favorite companies, WD-40, asks all employees to take their “Maniac Pledge.” It gets reinforced in everyday work. The text of the pledge is below, and we’ve added a video where CEO Garry Ridge talks about it.

“I am responsible for taking action, asking questions, getting answers, and making decisions. I won’t wait for someone to tell me. If I need to know, I’m responsible for asking. I have no right to be offended that I didn’t ‘get this sooner.’ If I’m doing something others should know about, I’m responsible for telling them.”

If you want another example, read the self-service and self-learning expectation of fabulous, remote only work culture, GitLab!

“Adopt a self-service and self-learning mentality. All-remote companies thrive through documentation. Crucially, this requires every team member to be equally invested in perpetuating documentation, creating a virtuous cycle of self-searching, self-service, and self-learning. Managers should continuously reinforce this expectation. ASSUME YOUR QUESTION IS ALREADY ANSWERED. It's not what you know, it's knowing where to look. This is true at GitLab and other organizations that are intentional about documenting processes, and it is entirely counter to how typical work environments are structured.

It is imperative that new team members operate with the assumption that their questions are already answered. This is a profound process shift that may feel unnatural and inefficient.

For team members this requires retraining. Managers should help team members resist defaulting to tapping on the virtual shoulder of someone as soon as an inquiry comes to mind. Rather, team members should redirect that effort into searching.”

Now What?: As you re-energize your culture, and put a reasonable expectation on the leaders to establish conditions for thriving, make sure you also ask everyone to look in the mirror and do their part. If it’s just about you, and what everyone should do to meet your wants and needs, you likely need a mindset squirt of WD-40!

Think Big, Start Small, Act Now,

- Lorne

One Millennial View: It’s curious as to when, where and why self-accountability started to die. When did entitlement become more popular than duty? Just wondering. That type of mindset is annoyingly squeaky, and definitely needs a dab of WD-40.

- Garrett

Edited and published by Garrett Rubis.

Need a Mindset Squirt of WD-40?

Search Blog Posts:

Follow Us: