Decorum
“Your values are what you hire or fire over.” This principle underscores the importance of establishing a strong foundation of decorum within any team or organization. Setting the tone from the outset, or even resetting it midway through a project, helps clarify expectations for behavior and collaboration.
A formal decorum framework ensures that everyone understands what is required of them and how they are expected to treat one another. This clear foundation not only guides team dynamics but also serves as the basis for future promotional or disciplinary actions.
The decorum framework I follow was originally shared to me by Justin Randal, who spent years working in Singapore and took these entries from Tony Goodman, the founder of Ensemble Studios (known for Age of Empires).
This framework is built around maintaining professionalism, fostering constructive debate, and promoting a culture of respect and collaboration.
Decorum objectives
At its core, decorum safeguards teams from negativity and cynicism. A positive working environment leads to higher-quality work and better morale, while prolonged stress and frustration directly impact the team’s productivity and overall quality of life. The objective is to avoid unhealthy patterns, making the workplace somewhere everyone looks forward to contributing each day.
Practice professionalism and courtesy
We are all professionals with proven track records, but even under pressure, professionalism and courtesy are paramount. Often, respect must be demonstrated before it is reciprocated. Taking the high road in difficult situations not only defuses tension but sets the example for others to follow.
Collegial discussion and debate
Healthy disagreement is essential to team success. Every member of the team, regardless of experience, should feel free to challenge and ask questions. An argument must stand on its own merits. By fostering open debate, teams avoid the “Silo” antipattern, where authority without reason stifles collaboration.
Strive for consensus, settle for reasoned disagreement
Cool-headed, objective disagreement can often lead to consensus. However, in cases where consensus cannot be achieved, it’s important that everyone understands the reasoning behind the decision, even if they don’t agree. This fosters greater acceptance and understanding, minimizing long-term resentment.
Communicate to avoid false assumptions
Miscommunication can lead to false assumptions and unmet expectations. To avoid this, team members must actively communicate their plans, progress, and intentions with stakeholders. This ensures everyone has a clear, shared understanding of what will be delivered.
Practice humility
Everyone makes mistakes, and acknowledging them is crucial for growth. Owning up to errors, no matter how small, and learning from them allows teams to improve continuously. If a problem isn’t yours, help take ownership until the solution is found. Never pass blame with “That’s not my problem” or “It works on my machine”, instead, work together to resolve the issue.
Critical feedback is useful, if it is constructive
Feedback is essential to improving any project, but it must be constructive to be effective. Vague criticism like “I don’t like it” offers little value. Instead, providing clear context, “I don’t like it because…”, or better yet, suggesting alternatives, helps drive productive solutions.
Your work is important
What you produce has value, whether to users or internal stakeholders. Be sure to communicate with your stakeholders to align expectations and ensure that you deliver meaningful outcomes. Avoid working in a vacuum, make sure your work serves the larger goals of the project and team.
Practice the art of the possible
Even when problems seem daunting, solutions are rarely impossible. Maintaining a creative and optimistic outlook is key to overcoming obstacles. Encourage a culture of “honest optimism,” where teams believe that every problem can be solved with the right approach.
Deliver value for your users
Everything we do ultimately serves someone else, whether it’s end users, internal teams, or other departments. It’s essential to align your work with the needs of your stakeholders. Self-directed work may miss critical details or diverge from the project’s goals. Let stakeholders set the overall direction while making intelligent decisions on how to progress toward those objectives.
Perfection is a direction, not a destination
The pursuit of perfection can be detrimental. Avoid the “Grand Reveal” antipattern, where teams invest significant time planning a flawless product, only to fail. Instead, focus on incremental improvements. “Better is better” should be the guiding principle, with progress measured in small, achievable steps.
Communication across boundaries
In a growing organization, communication becomes more challenging across teams, languages, and geographies. It takes effort and professionalism to maintain clarity and ensure that the right people have the right information. Break down organizational barriers when necessary, better to stir up a small kerfuffle than deal with the fallout from a preventable problem.
Beware conflict avoidance
Conflict is inevitable, but avoiding it only causes problems to fester. Address issues early, and if necessary, involve a manager or producer to help resolve conflicts. Maintaining professional decorum ensures that conflicts are addressed without unnecessary drama.
Always a single point of contact
Every problem or feature needs a clear point of contact. If this is unclear, escalate the question to a manager or producer. They are responsible for ensuring that no detail is missed, and that all necessary communication flows smoothly between teams.
Always communicate, even if indirectly
Sometimes direct communication breaks down due to strained relationships. In these cases, don’t hesitate to rely on a manager or producer as an intermediary. This ensures that critical communication still happens, even when it’s not possible to address issues directly.