LEADERS USE ACRONYMS TO HELP BUILD THE CULTURE

Throughout our personal and professional lives, we learn that the human brain resonates with acronyms. Why do our parents teach us acronyms when we are young? Why do our teachers in elementary school suggest using acronyms? Why do advertisers use acronyms to sell their products?

Acronyms help us remember many things: facts, behaviors, habits, people’s names. Leaders can also use acronyms to help build the culture they wish to create in the workplace. This week, during a leadership conversation with a friend, I was reminded of an instance where I and my team used an acronym to help transform our office culture.

This was a period during which I became aware that we had a leader-focused culture. I was the leader, the face of the CLE Department at Georgetown Law. I was the link between speakers and our staff, between sponsors and our staff, between customers and our staff. This was the era of old-fashioned written communication, and I signed all the recruitment letters to prospective presenters, all the thank-you letters to those presenters, all the acknowledgement letters to sponsors and all the evaluation feedback notes to attendees.

During a painful staff meeting one morning, our front-desk person, Jeff, confronted me about the fact that my staff members were not “all in” on our mission because they were all in the background. They wanted to do a good job, but they did not feel fully appreciated – by me, by the Dean, by law school faculty members, by CLE presenters and by our own customers.

I was stunned, and from that point forward, I endeavored to lead a shift in our office – from a staff culture to a team culture. I gave myself permission to let go of things – to encourage my teammates to take on tasks and assignments that I had been doing. It was hard for me, but so rewarding.

Teammates started introducing those presenters, communicating directly with those presenters before and after programs, writing directly to prospective sponsors, and proactively communicating with vendors and customers. Guess what happened?

We became a more efficient and more effective office. Best of all, we became a happier office. People felt empowered. People felt recognized. People felt appreciated.

As part of this paradigm shift, I wanted to come up with a message that would resonate with not only my current colleagues, but future colleagues as well. We had together drafted a team mission statement and framed it in our lobby area, but I was seeking something catchier that team members could easily remember.

Our Marketing Director, Robin, was reading a book about teambuilding at that time and came to me with an acronym straight from the book: TEAMS

Together
Each
Achieves
More
Success

We printed that acronym on a large paper sign and posted it in our office where everyone could see it: faculty members who visited, presenters and customers who came into our office, Deans, and colleagues from other departments. It was a daily reminder of our new paradigm and the manner in which we would be operating the office. That sign never came down until the new team culture was fully ingrained within our office.

I experienced another reminder of the power of leadership acronyms this past Friday night after I watched my alma mater’s football team, Syracuse University, defeat North Carolina State. On the post-game show, the new SU coach, Fran Brown, talked about how he is striving to improve the culture within the team, both on and off the field.

Brown said he had adopted an acronym to characterize his team: DART

Detailed
Accountable
Resilient
Tough

He has posted that acronym in the team’s locker room. He has had it emblazoned on shirts handed out to every player, coach and trainer. He has spoken about it at every single practice. I have read a sufficient number of articles during the past two months to know that Brown is succeeding in transforming the culture within the Syracuse team.

Acronyms can really help leaders improve or enhance cultures within an office or organizations. Have you tried it? If so, please send me the acronyms you have used. I would love to see them and share them. If not, I encourage you to think about how a powerful leadership acronym could help you enhance your own leadership.

If you believe this content would resonate with a friend or colleague, please feel free to forward it along!

-Larry