Tell New Members About the Culture

When I worked at Crayola, doodling during meetings was absolutely allowed. In fact, colored pencils, markers of all sizes, and crayons were often on every meeting room table. Doodling wasn’t only allowed, it was encouraged.

During my formative years at Crayola, my brain made the connection between doodling and deep thinking. Fast-forward to my next corporate job, where I carried my doodling behavior with me. After just a few meetings, my new manager said,
”Hey, when you’re doodling in meetings, it seems like you’re not paying attention.” Whoa! That was a massive surprise to me!

This social blunder embarrassed me, so I quickly adapted my behavior and stopped doodling. 

Every organization has a particular culture. Even member organizations have a member culture.

New members joining the community spend a lot of energy trying to figure out what that culture is. They want to understand the community values. And they especially want to understand the behaviors (so they don’t make any mistakes like I did).

So, how would you sum up your organization’s member culture? Are there unique behaviors, rituals, or language? How about dress, or greetings, or the way stories are told, or questions are asked? Go ahead and tell new members about the culture that embraces and what is totally off-limits. They will secretly thank you for giving them the keys to the community.