Implicit Rules Matter, Too

Fair warning! You’re going to be held to norms, rules, and expectations you’ve not heard about. Rather than be offended, let’s dive into the functionality of this. 

Firstly, teams are complex. That means your family, your work cohort, and your weekend softball crew all have a multitude of dynamics at play that cannot all be made explicit. 

Every group has implicit (or unspoken) commitments and expectations that are both critical and important to follow.

Some of the most important intangible norms and commitments that are implicit in a team revolve around commitment to the mission. 

Just the other day, for example, Deshaun Watson walked off the field on fourth down while in the quarterback role for Cleveland Browns. While there likely isn’t a “you must compete every down regardless of your mood rule” in the Browns employee handbook, there surely is an implicit norm that every member of the team will compete ruthlessly regardless of the score of any game. 

Watson, who has since been benched, broke on unspoken rule and the fall out can be catastrophic in an organization. Imagine the lack of trust and the level of dissension when a teammate shows that level of disrespect. 

All this to say, following the rules doesn’t suffice to be a great teammate. Ask yourself if you’re toeing the line on the implicit rules in your team. Those count just as much as the implicit ones.