Dear Parent: Your Son or Daughter works with me.
What is my workplace culture philosophy? I've never really written it down before, but I'm going to try explaining in the form of a letter that I hope I could write to the parents of someone who works for me. Anyway, thank you for reading. Enjoy!
Dear Parent,
Likely, we'll never meet, but your son or daughter works for me. I realize you probably don't spend a great deal of time thinking about who your child works for, but I'd like you to know a few things about the kind of workplace I aspire to lead. It's also important that you know what I want your son or daughter to experience while they work for me.
The number one thing I want them to experience is safety. They'll usually need to spend eight or more hours a day working here, and I want them to feel like this is a place where they belong and contribute. I want them to feel like work and life make sense to them. I'll warn you right now; I'm not fond of an unpredictable workplace. Trust, clarity, and the challenge of hard work should always be predictable. I hope they experience these three elements every day.
Please know that my team's safety means a great deal to me, and I have no tolerance for anyone who abuses them in any way. Yes, I have fired clients and other staff for crossing a line with how they treated someone on my team. I'll do it again if tested.
Also, I'm not going to ask them to show "ownership" of the business. Why? Well, because they're not owners. Their level of responsibility has to match rewards. However, I will ask that we work together to have results that make us all proud.
Many leaders demand accountability from their people but haven't done the work of establishing trust. I know; I've worked for people like that. Building trust is my responsibility. That's on me. Accountability doesn't work until trust has been firmly established.
One last thing, I hope working with me means that your son or daughter will have the space to dream about their next steps. Unfortunately, there are too many places to workplaces where quite frankly, people can't envision what next Tuesday will look like, let alone five years. If they're happy where they are, great, but if they can see themselves doing more, I'll do everything I can to help. I don't believe I'll be the best leader they ever work for, but if I can teach them and add value to their lives, I'll be delighted.
Thank you for your time,
Regards,
Jordan
