Your immediate reaction may be ‘absolutely not’, because you may think of misbehaviour as something that is outrageous or out of control. But, in fact, behaviour is ‘conduct’ or ‘deportment’ – the way in which one acts or conducts oneself, especially toward others. And there is a great deal of poor behaviour in many workplaces, and a lot of people are in denial. In fact, poor behaviour is often at the root of dysfunctional workplaces where employees don’t look forward to going to work. In functional workplaces, where employees know that the people around them will behave in a healthy, reasonable manner, there are greater feelings of safety, trust, and engagement. When everyone manages their behaviour and moods, it keeps the work environment constructive. It’s pretty basic actually – and it’s simply about being ‘collegial’.

At the Centre for Character Leadership, we define a collegial workplace as one where people feel safe, appreciated, and engaged – and where everyone practises the character values of respect, integrity, compassion, and courage. In these collegial workplaces, leaders engage in behaviours that align with what they expect of others, conflicts are resolved constructively, and people support each other even when mistakes are made.

Do you ever wonder if your employees enjoy going to work every day? Or what you can do to make the workplace more collegial? The following simple questions, used in a coaching session, could help you gain some insight and answers.

1. What do you most enjoy about working here?
2. What would the benefit be of having a more collegial workplace?
3. If we could do one thing differently to make the workplace more enjoyable, what would it be?

TIP: Be on the alert for signs of misbehaviour – it is often an early warning signal that there is something dysfunctional going on – whether it be lack of team functioning, communication break-down, or lack of trust.

Read more about Building a Character Culture for trust and results in the workplace or call me to find out about the Character Culture Assessment.   Visit us at www.centreforcharacterleadership.com or call 905-4778-7962.