The case for an Organisational Social Contract

TouchPoint has been driving conversations about a Social Contract for a few months now, and as we're invited to step into more public forums, the engagement with this is gaining momentum fast. 

Before the Social Contract becomes the next business buzz word; before it rises into the realm of zeitgeist and jargon - and thereby loses its impact and effectiveness - we’d like to take a moment to put it in context and articulate what we mean by it. 

What is an organisational Social Contract? 

Just as the business contract outlines the base line of business operations, the social contract is the code for behavioural interactions in business.

Think of it as the behavioural code of your organisation.

When we introduce this in workshops, we can see leaders' shoulders drop under the heavy weight of the long list of diverse considerations. 

So what we say next always attracts attention: the contract does not begin with the question, “how do you like to show up” but with :

“What are we here to do?”

And 

“Who are we here to serve?”

And from that base line, we ask:

How do we show up in service to that?

How do we positively interact with others in service to that? 

How we show up is incredibly important but we have to show up in context. 

As a result of COVID and an extended work from home model, we have been isolated in our own social bubbles for a substantial amount of time, so a question that asks how “I” would like to show up elicits an all-encompassing me-in-the-context-of-me response. Which is incredibly important and healthy in the context of home; but becomes problematic in the context of the workplace.

Business cannot serve every “me”; so how can it serve the most me’s?

By creating a contract that speaks to the me that is here to serve business and the me that business is able to serve. 

Let us be very clear, the Social Contract is neither drawn up by executives with authoritative expectations of compliance; nor is it a list of demands drawn up by DE and I working groups. It is the agreed upon common ground brought about by intentional communication and understanding of perspectives. It is the base line of professional, kind, respectful human interaction. And not upholding it has consequences, also agreed on by all. 

If we set up this base line of professional, kind, respectful human interaction, we set up an acceptable safe space to interact; which opens up communication and flow which results in better outcomes.  

The Social Contract is especially relevant as we call our team members back to the office. We receive countless questions about the most impactful way to get teams back into the workplace and our response is always: 

With extreme perspective

With extreme clarity 

and

With extreme honesty

Getting everyone back into the office is fraught with unhealthy tension and seemingly new problems are emerging; problems sounding like:

• “yet another Generation has entered the workplace”

• “this sounds like a dictatorship”

• “they just won’t listen”

At TouchPoint, we believe these problems are not new but that they have a new context : working from home was comfortable, and coming into the office is not. 

• After years of wfh we have become accustomed to being surrounded by people who most align with our worldview. Now, work represents one of the few places where all of our diversities bump up against each other; and this is intensely uncomfortable and confronting, especially if we have no behavioural code. We need to relearn how to hold space for difference - not attack it, not avoid it, not exclude it - and the social contract helps us do that.

• In all this human complexity, leaders have become afraid to lead, so expectations become apologetic and are received as suggestions rather than direction.

We have all read the literature about successful businesses being driven by thriving people; we know we need psychologically safe spaces; we know we need honest communication; we know we need authentic leadership and clarity of execution, but what we have not yet considered is that maybe we are so far from that, that we may need a code to get us there.

DE and I cannot do all the heavy lifting; we need a shift in mindset that reflects the professional needs of people in business and the genuine commitment of business to uphold those needs.

We need agreement on how we show up in our business environment; and how business shows up to uphold that agreement.

The Social Contract will give leaders permission to lead and teams the clarity to execute. 

This is an opportunity to acknowledge transition and handle it intentionally; it can signal a new way of working: an integrated, professional, articulated agreement that serves all people in business. 

Now, we can get on with the job. 

This is when all the heads in the room start nodding.

This makes sense. 

So, what may be stopping you doing this? 

How are you standing in your own way?

What would starting this work look like? 

This is undoubtedly the messy, sticky, human part of transition; and it's best done together. We know you're swamped, that's why we created TouchPoint.

Get in touch, 

This is where we shine.

-Kate Bruce