Corporate Culture: Discipline

As people move into management the term “discipline” takes on a whole new meaning. New managers naturally consider discipline and disciplining as having much the same meaning. In fact, these two words are very different from each other.

Webster defines discipline in four ways. They are, “1) Training intended to elicit a specified pattern of behavior or character, 2) A condition of order based on obedience to authority, 3) Punishment meant to correct or train, 4) A set of methods or rules of conduct, 5) A specific branch of knowledge or of teaching.” Webster goes on to define disciplining as “to penalize.”

As you can see by these definitions, the creation of discipline within your organization is up to management. Who else is going to train the employees to follow those specified patterns of behavior that will create the orderly environment that is necessary to succeed in business? It is management’s role to set the rules of conduct conducive to a healthy business atmosphere. How you go about this process will determine whether your company has a positive or negative culture. Obviously, you want a positive culture because you want those who work for you to come to work in the morning ready to contribute their talents to the success of the business.

It is widely recognized that the level of learning going on in an organization directly relates to the creation of a disciplined and productive work force. This learning starts with you as the manager. Like it or not, you are always teaching. How you react to suggestion and criticism will train your employees to either avoid broaching certain subjects or take healthy creative chances.

The most positive form of training occurs when you are using every situation to train. When asked a question, respond by asking a question back that will stimulate the person towards resolving the question. The people who work for you often know what to do; they just need the reassurance that you agree with their point of view. By responding with a question instead of the answer you will be sending two messages to the employee. The first message is that you value their judgment and input, and the second is that you believe they are capable of solving the problem. This will go a long way towards building a positive working environment.

With regards to creating an orderly working environment, you must consider that in order for your employees to be able to be effective at what they do they must have direction that can be referenced. To create discipline within your organization, you must have the operating tools readily at your staff’s fingertips. Discipline comes from repetitive action that cannot be created over night. To facilitate this process, take all of the memos and other loose reference materials that most employees have stuffed in their desks and put them into a binder. Organize them in a logical progression (usually by subject), and create an index page. Create identical binders for each employee, and then hand them out at an introductory meeting. Take the time to explain the purpose of the binder, and have examples ready that will demonstrate the advantage of having the information at their fingertips. Over the next few meetings, schedule some time to review one or two of the oldest items in the binder, and assign one of the team members to re-introduce this item. The things that are most easily forgotten are the older items, so start with the oldest or most obscure unless there is a pressing subject that needs to be addressed.

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