Episode 018: Unwritten Rules

Unwritten rules, they are so natural to us and are deeply part of our communication and expectations. Unwritten rules cause uncommunicated expectations. Uncommunicated expectations break up marriages, families, and businesses. What are your values, your tenets, your culture and have you ever considered what your unwritten rules are?

Have you ever heard the phrase "beat them over the head with the Bible?" Or the concept of beating sense into a person? So much corporate capital is spent on companies using culture to recruit, and an equal amount is spent on communication. And yet… there is a gap. On this episode of The Rebellious Recruiter with Daava Mills, I'll be talking about that gap. The gap that is caused by all of our unwritten rules and uncommunicated expectations.

Daava's Rebellious Recruiting Notes:

• Unwritten rules serve no purpose. The issue is that we all have them, and we all base our communication on unwritten rules.
• The first place you can start establishing a common language with employees is before they become an employee.
• Recently, in a recruiter forum, a poster asked, "What type of answer do you want when you open the interview with 'Tell me about yourself'?"
• Responses to that post were wide ranging from learning about hobbies, to determining work ethic, how the candidate focuses on personal productivity to how they put their character on display.
• Candidates were judged on their response without context. A candidate opens up about their personal life with one interviewer, and it's awesome. But the next thinks they aren't professional, and the next automatically makes it mean they can hold a schedule.
• It's all assumptions, caused by unwritten rules.
• The challenge for today's episode is to reflect on your unwritten rules and write them down. Use this new found knowledge to document your expectations and get clear on the communication you expect.

Episode Links:

The Rebellious Recruiter

Does your language shape how you think?

Guugu Yimithirr Language

Simon Sinek - Start With Why

Episode 016: Camp, Cadavers and Crappy Questions

Episode 007: The Ideal Phone Screen

How does your experience relate to jobs we have here?