Oh, that’s just ____ being ____……
How often do we hear that, particularly when it relates to someone behaving in a way that we might find to be objectionable or out of alignment with our values? Someone makes a nasty comment and we dismiss it. Or someone says something insensitive and we convince ourselves that they just don’t know better.
Fortunately, I’d say that at Michelman we don’t hear this stuff that often. Yet, it does occur. And, when it does I’ve noticed the tendency, by some, to sometimes dismiss that behavior as simply a function of someone’s outsized, unique, or quirky personality. In other words, while I might not like how they’re acting, or it might make me uncomfortable, I guess it isn’t that big of a deal because it is just “them being them....”
Let me suggest that we should not simply write these things off. Let me also suggest that “them being them” behavior is not, in fact, acceptable if it crosses the line of acceptability. OK, we’re all a little quirky sometimes. We all have our own unique and sometimes colorful personalities. That is wonderful. That’s what makes each of us us. The fact that Michelman is full of all of us quirky and wonderful people is one of our strengths. But, that quirkiness or individuality is not what I’m talking about.
The behaviors I’m referring to here are those that are out of alignment with what makes Michelman Michelman. Those behaviors that are not consistent with the Michelman values. We know what I’m talking about here. It is those behaviors that make people uncomfortable. Those behaviors or comments that are personal or hostile, or unprofessional. I appreciate that this can be a tricky issue. There are, of course, those gray areas. But, if we’re all honest with ourselves and honest with each other, we know where gray turns into something else. We can be a little tolerant around gray. But, we should have no tolerance for those that are clearly and obviously out of bounds.
So, please, I urge us to all eliminate the “them being them” from our vocabulary. Let’s all pledge to reclaim our Michelman values. Let’s commit, in particular, to the value of Respect and let’s commit to treating everyone at Michelman with the dignity and professionalism that we all deserve. Let’s also commit to saying something if and when we see something. If you’ve reviewed our code of conduct, you should be aware that we’ve got a special email box for you to communicate about perceived violations of Michelman-expected behaviors. We encourage you to send your concerns to reportanissue@michelman.com.
Let me close by encouraging all of us do our best to assume positive intent. Sometimes we say or do things where we’ve honestly never intended to offend anyone. If you find yourself in an uncomfortable or tricky situation it is really OK to say something. Please mention it. And, again, if you’re not comfortable mentioning it directly, see someone from HR or drop a note to reportanissue@michelman.com. And, look out for specific training that will be available on this topic. Our culture and our values are what make Michelman who we are. Let’s all commit to preserving them. And, let’s commit to treating everyone with the dignity and respect that we all deserve.
