Putting Our Culture into Practice: Build Open and Honest Communications
“Communication – the human connection – is the key to personal and career success.”

With these words, Paul J. Meyer (the late founder of the Leadership Management Institute and an authority on personal and professional development) stated a fundamental tenet of how we at MECCO operate our business. As a team, we agree that communicating well allows us to unlock our greatest potential and deliver our best to our clients, to each other, and to ourselves. In today’s Align with Nine post, we share our thoughts on the power of communication by examining our Core Behavior #4: Build Open and Honest Communications.

A Thought-Driven Process that Fosters Ongoing Communication

To create an environment that engenders open and honest communications, we follow a clearly- defined thought process. First, we aim to “achieve clarity among each other.” We pledge to depart meetings only when everyone is clear on what the action items are and who is responsible for delivering on each action item.

Next, we ask questions in a thoughtful manner. We believe that “the quality of the answers we receive is directly related to the quality of our questions.” We train ourselves and each other to ask questions that provide results, so that the best course of action becomes self-evident.

Finally, we commit to “speaking honestly,” so that no matter the situation, we operate from a position of trust.

Garnering Trust: The Cornerstone of Open and Honest Communications

When defining open and honest communications as a core behavior, we agreed that honesty leads to strong relationships built on a foundation of trust. It is this very trust that makes everything else we do possible. That’s why we make clear and direct requests. We pledge to be willing to surface ideas and take positions that may result in a healthy conflict when it’s necessary to reach our objectives.

So how do we demonstrate the value that we place on trust? By putting it into practice each and every day – with our customers and with each other. To us, trust is about making sure that our clients know that our ears are always open to whatever they need to tell us, whether it’s to convey the urgency of a deadline, deliver constructive feedback, or brainstorm a potential solution to a problem.

Chas Barger, Service Supervisor, states that open and honest communications are “critical for a service department.” Barger goes on to note that our goal is to “find the best solution, not provide fluff.” His sentiment can best be summed up in straight-forward terms: “We believe that being direct and open is the best way to arrive at a workable solution,” says Barger.

Like all of us at MECCO, Sales Engineer Rose George is a firm believer in the power of trust. She also feels that in order to gain the trust and confidence of our customers, we must first and consistently demonstrate why they should trust us. And we know that trust is best cultivated and sustained through open and honest communications.

“Here, we reinforce the need to communicate and work well with our customers and each other,” states George. She notes that our commitment to open and honest communications was a key factor in her decision to join our team earlier this year. “At MECCO, it’s clear that the emphasis on trust is one that’s earned by being open and honest with our customers. We don’t say what we think a customer wants to hear or hide behind excuses,” says George. “We want our customers to have faith in us, to trust us. We honor that trust through communication that is transparent and genuine.” 

Want more of our bi-weekly blog series on putting our culture into practice? We’ll be back in two weeks, when we cover Core Behavior #5: Lend Hands to Your Team.