We are excited to bring you the 6th and final installment in our 'Business Protocol' series! This series was meant to give you a broad introduction to business etiquette with helpful tips and reminders. We hope it has been useful and informative.
Our review this week will be found in a complete summary at the end of the article, so let's jump right into our conclusion:
O - Organizational chain of command is still alive and well in spite of many organizations moving to a more team-based environment. Bypassing your supervisor is usually not considered very cool and most of the time does not work out in your best interest. If you do this accidentally, be sure and get your supervisor back in the loop as soon as possible. Having said this, however, be sure your responsibility, accountability, and authority are in sync. You should not be responsible for something that you have no authority over. Also, if there is no accountability in the organization for whatever reason, workers sense this and it becomes part of the organization’s culture, one in which it’s very difficult to accomplish functions or tasks.
L - Listening is much more important than talking. Listen actively for content as well as emotions. Being a good listener will make you a much better communicator. And, everyone will LOVE you!
Here is a summary list for you to use:
B- Be on time.
U- Use the 'relate to' model to help remember names and titles.
S- Stay an arms length away.
I- Importance of organizational culture.
N- Never be intoxicated!
E- Everyone should understand the importance of nonverbal communcation.
S- Stop the gossip!
S- Stay away from friendships with subordinates.
P- Keep it professional.
R- Rules of introductions.
O- One's private area (physical boundaries)
T- The question of leaving gracefully
O- Other meeting 'time wasters'
C- Conflict
O- Organizational chains of command
L- Listening!
No one gets business protocol right all of the time. Most of us have made mistakes in the areas listed above plus many others that are considered business protocol. The idea is not to memorize the rules but to internalize the tips above as well as other tips dictated by your organization’s culture, and conduct yourself in a manner that is honorable. If it doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t right. If you wouldn’t want someone doing it to you, don’t do it.
If we all take the high road, and behave in honorable and respectful ways, proper protocol will usually take care of itself.
That's all she wrote for this series! As always, we welcome your thoughts and ideas. Tyler will have a new blog out later in the week in his 'assessments' series, and I'll be back with new ideas soon! Until then, remember: you can't manage what you don't measure – we agree, and we can help!
--Pamper