In connection I was impressed with Amanda Palmer’s reflections on what she’s learned regarding the ‘art of asking’. It’s gotten me thinking on the trust it takes to let go. To relinquish control and instead of “making” we begin “letting” people participate in the process.

While working on my undergraduate, I worked in the Housing & Student Living Office at BYU-Idaho. I first joined the office as a volunteer launching a campus initiative that was focused on promoting personal responsibility in respect to the Honor Code and the religious values core to the university’s purposes. So was there some big crack down on violations? An announcement of stricter policy enforcement? Nope. The focus was on the apartment life. We invited apartments to cultivate healthy relationships that could resolve conflict. The core values were love, shared responsibility and mutual respect. Roommates were invited to watch out for each other and support each other in their commitments to live up to the Honor Code.

There was less regulation and the trust was placed on students to do the right thing on a personal level and to help others to do the same. As this initiative rolled out, we saw students rise to the opportunity to be allowed to live it. For many the honor code was no longer an external rule imposed, but part of the character and culture of the experience that is BYU-Idaho.

Building Culture
There’s traditional management styles that depend on old school enforcement of external rules while trying to promote a collaborative environment. The challenge is our accountability metrics don’t match the culture or atmosphere we’re trying to foster.

For example in an effort to build culture a recently formed company department might have a mandatory set of meetings to participate in, where an attendance roll is passed around. Absentees receive invitations to meet with upper management to discuss their absence. Is there a way that could be turned into an opportunity to contribute and participate?

Perhaps every employee is invited to submit an idea or goal inspired by the time together to their manager. Instead of just a quantitative tally, suddenly the management group is also receiving feedback and indication of the new culture adoption. Employees are given a voice, promoting buy-in to the new department.

What are your thoughts?
Instead of requiring others to be accountable to us, how can we let others be accountable?