Today we are pleased to bring you this special guest blog by one of our clients, Jeff Ashworth of ElectraNet.  Jeff has been working with BRS over the last 6 months and is passionately committed to driving high performance within his team and working to shift the culture. He’s a huge advocate of shared learning and the BRS team have enjoyed working with him to bring his messages and ideas to life.

My team started out on the journey with the above the line program 6 months ago, and I have had the privilege of leading the initiative. I adore its simple message that we can all choose our own attitude. Every day when you show up for work, you can decide, right there, what you think, what you say, and what you will do and get, as you go about your daily business. Every one of us has the power to make a difference and can choose to do the right things.

We wanted to inspire higher performance, a sense of purpose and collective responsibility.  We now increasingly focus on people including language, actions, accountability and behaviours –because building a great culture is an enabler that can lead us towards that high performance.

I really believe that the above the line way of thinking can enable positive change. Through taking responsibility and concentrating on solutions rather than the problems, and being empowered to take risks, we are heading towards a proactive, collaborative and enjoyable culture. If you can get this aspect of your business and your life right, it will act as an enabler and support all your other initiatives.

Of course any change, and in particular a change of culture cannot happen without considerable commitment, and many change efforts will sadly fail. We have however made some real breakthroughs and will keep moving forward. And the word is spreading. I have had two other teams outside my division plus an external service partner express interest and ask me to attend their team meetings to tell them more about our journey – a true life example of the ripple effect!

I would be delighted to discuss any aspect of the above the line program. It’s such a simple yet powerful and effective tool. It’s really transformed how I approach my work, my relationships and my way of thinking. I like that it’s also a self-check.  As human beings we all might have a bad day, experience stress or pressures, and slip below the line from time to time. It’s great to have a simple tool that allows us to check our own performance.