Every workplace has a culture.
Culture can be defined as a consistent patterns people follow for communicating, thinking, and acting, all grounded in their shared assumptions and values.
Symbols and languages: how people dress, how the office space is organized, how perks are distributed within certain work groups, a long list of acronyms.
Norms and patterns of behavior: how people get support for important initiatives, how they win recognition for their accomplishments, how they view meetings, processes.
Basic assumptions and values: beliefs, the right way to distribute power, chain of command.
I have violated boundaries before in a new workplace. However, there is forgiveness in the short-term. Don’t linger there too long because the other team members will expect you to recover and recalibrate your behavior accordingly.
By the way, don’t expect Gen Y to (always) warmly receive your culture, especially since they love to redefine environments. Yes, they need to be open. However, so do workplaces.
Michael Watkins has helped me tremendously with his thinking.
Related posts:
