Creating Company Culture where Character Matters

I recently listened to a podcast whose featured guest engaged in some disrespectful behavior to their team during prep for the podcast.  Instead of letting the poor behavior slide, the podcast hosts said, Nope!  We don’t work like that, and canceled the podcast interview. 

I was inspired that these women who are semi-famous had the courage to say “Nope” to a more famous person.  I was impressed that they didn’t let the quantity of power or prestige or money influence their decision. They knew immediately, instinctually, that this behavior was wrong.  I was proud that they made a stand; they put the respect and dignity of their team members ABOVE the hurt feelings of anyone else.  

And so I was inspired to continue living this way myself.  I resonated with their gut reaction, that siren that goes off inside that says “This isn’t right, I must do something!”

How many times have we, women especially, experienced behaviors in the workplace that go unchecked?  

How many times and ways have we had to endure inappropriate or belittling behaviors because we were not empowered to say Nope? As employees, we often don’t have a lot of choices.  We are at the mercy of our employers, whatever the boss says goes because they sign our paychecks and we need financial stability for our families. So we remain silent or perhaps we try to speak up but ultimately we are overshadowed by the opinion/power of someone else.  

The reason that these podcast hosts could listen to that inner siren and say Nope is that they work for themselves.  They weren’t dependent on this interviewee, and certainly not for a paycheck!  When we work for ourselves, we are our own boss and we get to decide what our company culture is.  And guess what, that company culture can mirror our inner sirens.

That’s what I’m building at Truly Bookkeeping.  My dream is to build a workplace that empowers my employees to listen to their inner siren, not silence it for the sake of someone else.  I want each of us to know that we are deserving of respect, even if we disagree.  I want to work with and attract clients who also operate in this same way.  As a business owner, I get to decide who I work with.  I have the luxury of transitioning away from a client if my inner siren signaling to do so. Instead,  I choose to work with clients who say Nope to disrespectful and belittling attitudes. 

Supporting Companies for Good

At Truly, we LOVE to work with mission-based companies and organizations.  We want to support those who are doing the hard work of bringing justice and peace and equality to our world.  Through our partnerships, we get to change communities, creating the world we want for our kids.  

I challenge you to think about different areas of your life. Do you have the freedom to say Nope? If not, what can you do to change that?