There were 3 topics swirling around in this crazy head of mine.

There were three topics swirling around in this crazy head of mine: get involved, put your thinking cap on, take responsibility.

We seem to be in a society of not getting involved, don’t tell, don’t report, stay in your lane. While there are times this is good does not always create benefit.

Put your thinking cap on and pay attention to your surroundings. Read a sign. Look at the policy before asking others for a solution, have you done all you can to assist. Take initiative to learn.

Responsibility???? How is that my issue, your signs are not big enough. I didn’t read the fine print. It was only a few minutes after my shift started.

Anyone who drives a car parks it somewhere. As the driver it is understood you are responsible for the safe operation of your vehicle.

Why these three topics you ask? One came from an appeals perspective where every excuse under the book comes your way. Some of them pretty interesting. After over 20 years in our department, I am waiting for a better emergency reason than a bathroom need. The second and more important thought was following a recent staff training. Some issues have been identified within our different areas where staff were violating policies. No one is bringing these issues forward and allowing it to affect job performance. Ignoring violating policies or not bring it forward is not the environment we want for our staff, and most definitely cannot be modified if it is not known. We have a responsibility as employees to inform supervisors, or leaders, and if all that makes you uncomfortable tell a peer who might be more comfortable bringing it to a supervisor.

I suppose another facet of exploration should be at the department level. Are we doing the right thing? Let me give an example. We recently discovered there were things happening in the department that required re-training. During our midyear training, we did some group activities to help the team understand bigger picture impacts and to improve their thought processes. One of the activities had different roles for participants to play including leader, follower, constant question asker, non-participator (sat on phone or just ignored the group) and one who sabotaged the project. There were some great conversations once they were told the different roles that were handed out and could easily guess who had which role. The intent was to provide a broad base understanding on how each type of team member affected the rest of the team. Based on the comment made, the staff did not seem to understand the impact the role they play has on the entire team.

There was also a scavenger hunt with instructions on how to find the next clue. However, the instructions were purposefully vague so each team had to use resources and individual thought process to achieve the goal. Our team was frustrated because the instructions were vague and that they had not been given explicit instructions on how to perform, find and accomplish the objective. From a leadership and training perspective, we then attempted to understand how to teach attention and responsibility. One of the finds was a damaged sign. All teams found the sign, but did not see the magnet (to resemble graffiti) we put on the sign to bring back. The staff complaint was “how do you expect us to see something so small”. The explanation was we expect you to know your surroundings and report issues. The hope of teaching our staff to put on their thinking cap, get involved, take responsibility to pay attention to surroundings and job responsibilities, could not be understood by the staff. We have to keep trying to find a way to help our team understand these concepts and apply them in the work environment.

Not doing anything to change an environment long term negative employees and overall low morale. By communicating and bringing these issues forward, a solution can be developed through individual thought process, collaboration at the team level, and through department support.