A culture that creates thriving systems is defined by behaviours that reinforce bonds of safety and trust in order to allow each part of that system to creatively emerge. We call these 'normative behaviours.' Some are consciously adopted, others naturally form and are noticed and named.
Normative Behaviours are agreed practices. They are a collective agreement of ‘how we do things around here’. Normative Behaviours can be captured and documented in an effort to illuminate commitments the group makes to themselves and each other.
Some normative behaviours will likely be operational, outlining the manner in which we agree to approach certain situations, commitments to timeframes and expectations for behaviour in different contexts. Others will reflect commitments to interactions with groups and colleagues. Safety and trust are undoubtedly built in the security of these agreements; predictability breeds security.
We also recognize that these behaviours must be, at their core ethical, defined by a commitment to promote the creative self inherent in each and every individual. Any actions that do not support this creative emergence is not ethical and falls outside of the normative behaviours we seek.
Perhaps the most crucial normative behaviours are those agreed practices which allow for flourishing. The practices that allow the individual to be seen, to stand out, to have a voice, to be heard and to choose. Normative behaviours must value the self within the collective.
A culture that creates thriving systems is defined by behaviours that illuminate the creative self. They give permission to Fit In and Stand Out. We conform to collectively thrive. We seek safety bonds and trust allow us to thrive courageously.