Integrity Ideas are specific actions a leader can consider during the Re-Align step of Integriosity^®–actions that will begin to Re-Align the organization with Biblical beliefs, principles and priorities.  You can find more Integrity Ideas at Integrous | Integrity Ideas (integriosity.com)

INTEGRITY IDEA: Morning Manners Matter

“Morning Manners Matter” is about a faithful leader taking the time to say “Good Morning” to employees they encounter when arriving at work.

Integrity Ideas are practical actions toward implementing a bigger WHY for the organization.  We believe some are critical (and necessary) steps in the RENEW/RE-ALIGN/RE-IMAGINE/RESTORE process.  Others are just ideas to be considered if they feel like a good fit based on what leaders prayerfully discern is best for stewarding the organization toward its WHY.

“Morning Manners Matter” is about as simple—and free—as an Integrity Idea can get.  It’s not really in the “necessary” category, but a leader unwilling to implement it needs to check their heart to see whether Humanizing People, Beautifying the World and Glorifying God are really their bigger WHYs and the bigger WHYs of the organization.

The Power of Words and Encouragement

“Morning Manners Matter” recognizes the power of words and embraces the power of encouragement. It says to people, “I see you,” “I care about you,” and “You matter,” enough to pause.  It proclaims that recognizing fellow human beings as people made in God’s image is more important than the pressing matter waiting to be addressed.

Encouragement is inseparable from the words leaders choose to speak—or withhold—which is why it is fundamentally a words issue, not merely a personality trait or leadership style.

We have devoted several posts to the importance and power of words. For example, we looked at The Power of Words (and Disordered Words) in post #113, Words That Shape Work in post #114, Words That Shape Identity in post #115, Words That Shape Culture in post #116, Words That Shape Act III (Eliminate Retirement) in post #176 and Words That Inspire: “Play Big” in post #178.

Recently in post #313 (Integrity Idea 094: Be a Barnabas), we explored the power of encouragement.

God created the universe by speaking, and Satan tried to tempt Jesus by twisting God’s word.   The Bible tells us that words have the power to create (Genesis 1:3; Hebrews 11:3), effect change (Mark 11:23), give life or bring death (Proverbs 18:21), build up or corrupt (Ephesians 4:29), bring health (Proverbs 16:24), or destroy (Proverbs 11:9; Matthew 12:36-37).

Scripture is replete with passages about the power of words to lift others up:

Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body. (Proverbs 16:24)

Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad. (Proverbs 12:25)

A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver. (Proverbs 25:11)

Setting the Tone

“Morning Manners Matter” not only sets the tone for the day, it reinforces the tone of the culture.  How people are treated impacts how they treat people. How a leader treats managers will impact how managers treat employees, and how managers treat employees will impact how employees treat each other and how they treat other stakeholders. Sam Walton is often credited with saying:

The way management treats associates is exactly how the associates will treat the customers.

“Morning Manners Matter” is about throwing a tiny pebble in a pond–the splash may be small, but the ripples will continue spreading.

Think for a moment about the difference between the environment of the Bailey Building and Loan and the environment of Potter’s Bank in It’s a Wonderful Life.  George Bailey went through the streets of Bedford Falls seeing people and greeting people. Mr. Potter saw only transactions and power. One saw neighbors. The other saw numbers. They epitomized the difference between business a better way and business as usual.

“Good morning“–those two simple words, spoken with heart and eye contact, quietly embody the Creation Mandate, Imago Dei, the Golden Rule and the commandment to love your neighbor. In doing so, they reflect and reinforce a culture that prioritizes relationships, community, human dignity, and flourishing.

CONTINUUM: People

The Integriosity model organizes “heart change” along six Covert-Overt Continuums.  There is nothing magic about these categories, but we believe they are helpful in thinking about practical execution of a Re-Imagined Purpose, Re-Imagined Values and a Re-Imagined Culture.  The Continuums are Prayer, Proclamation, Policies, Practices, Products, People.

Each Continuum represents an area in which leaders can begin to think about, plan and institute Re-Alignment changes to the heart of the organization.

“Morning Manners Matter” is on the People Continuum. It is not about organizational practices or formal policies. It is about a faithful leader caring one-on-one about another person with whom they work.  Of course, it can be a practice encouraged organizationally, but it happens person to person.

COVERT-OVERT RATING: Highly Covert

The Integriosity model breaks the Covert-Overt Continuums into six gradations–from Highly Covert to Highly Overt–that we believe are helpful in beginning to pray and think about what is most appropriate for an organization at a particular moment in time.

Most Integrity Ideas have one place on the scale.  Some can vary depending on how they are implemented.  We identify “Morning Manners Matter” as Highly Covert (An action that would be taken by a secular company) because it is something every human being should implement in their life.

“Morning Manners Matter” can be moved toward the Overt end of the Continuum by, for example, rolling out an organizational campaign to encourage managers to offer morning greetings and explaining its Biblical foundations or tying it to a business a better way culture aligned with Biblical beliefs, principles and priorities.

STAKEHOLDERS SERVED: Employees

When we categorize faith-based actions, we also consider the stakeholders principally impacted by the action: Employees, Customers/Clients, Owners, Suppliers/Vendors, Community and Kingdom.

“Morning Manners Matter” principally serves Employees by saying “I see you“, “I care” and “You matter“.  It is giving them the gift of the faithful leader’s time and presence.  It humanizes them by prioritizing relationship, community, human dignity and flourishing.

IMPLEMENTATION

Unlike many Integrity Ideas, there is a magic formula to “Morning Manners Matter”–just do it, from the heart.

“From the heart” manifests as a pause, eye contact, and saying the person’s name.  It is not while running by.  It requires caring about people and truly seeing the person.

The bigger implementation question for “Morning Manners Matter” is not about the HOW–it is about the WHY NOT.  Remember, a leader unwilling to implement it needs to check their heart for whether Humanizing People, Beautifying the World and Glorifying God are really their bigger WHYs and the bigger WHYs of the organization.

Scripture gives us insight as to the connection between heart and words:

Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. (Matthew 12:34)

“Morning Manners Matter” is not a management technique.  It is not a strategy to make people feel better about their work or to get them to treat customers in a way that increases sales.

If that doesn’t make sense, we encourage you to rewatch It’s a Wonderful Life and observe George Bailey.  The whole film portrays a man who knows people, greets people, and values people over transactions. Unlike Mr. Potter, George does not see people as a means to his ends.  His greetings Humanized, Beautified, and Glorified. So can yours–and it’s free.

PERSONAL NOTE (from PM):  I must thank Michael Stallard for inspiring this simple idea. It was one of the ideas included in 100 Ways to Connect, which was published as a supplement to his book Connection Culture: The Competitive Advantage of Shared Identity, Empathy, and Understanding at Work.

But I saw this in practice the one time I visited my daughter Annie’s offices in Manhattan.  It is a professional services firm, and she is a relatively junior employee. We call her our “Joy Bubble”.  As soon as we walked through the doors, the first people she introduced me to were the receptionists at the front desk. Through joyful smiles, they told me something I already knew–how wonderful a person Annie is.

When we walked away, I commented on their reaction to meeting me.  She humbly replied that she couldn’t explain it because all she does is greet them with “Good Morning” each day.

Later, when I shared the story with my wife, she mentioned that Annie also baked the receptionists blondies at Christmas–a topic for another post.

ESSENCE:  Integrity Ideas are specific practical actions a faithful leader can consider in leading faithfully through business a better way.

INTEGRITY IDEA: Morning Manners Matter

“Morning Manners Matter” is about as simple—and free—as an Integrity Idea can get.  It is about a faithful leader taking the time to say “Good Morning” to employees they encounter when arriving at work.  “Morning Manners Matter” recognizes the power of words and embraces the power of encouragement. It says to people, “I see you,” “I care about you,” and “You matter,” enough to pause.  It proclaims that recognizing fellow human beings is more important than the pressing matter waiting to be addressed.  “Morning Manners Matter” not only sets the tone for the day, it reinforces the tone of the culture.  How people are treated impacts how they treat people. Those two simple words, spoken with heart and eye contact, quietly embody the Creation Mandate, Imago Dei, the Golden Rule and the commandment to love your neighbor. By doing so, they reflect and reinforce an organizational culture that prioritizes relationships, community, human dignity and flourishing.

COVERT-OVERT CONTINUUM (six Continuums for action): People

COVERT-OVERT RATING (several levels from Highly Covert to Highly Overt): Highly Covert

STAKEHOLDERS SERVED: Employees

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Photo credit: Original image by jonas mohamadi: https://www.pexels.com/photo/white-ceramic-mug-with-coffee-1477851/ (photo cropped)