The first house I remember living in was in Orangeburg, Kentucky when I was about four years old. The only running water in the house came out of the nozzle of a pump located in the center of the kitchen. The house held no bathroom. That duty was performed in an outhouse to the rear of the house. We only lived there six months and my memories of the house are thin. One Sunday morning sticks in my memory. We attended church in a small white building with black letters under the eve that read Orangeburg Methodist Church. The front double doors swung into the building and fit neatly against the front wall. The polished hardwood floor sloped slightly all the way to a one-step stage that covered the front of the one-room building.
The worship service itself escapes my recollections but I clearly remember the moments afterwards. With my older sister, Sylvia, dutifully at their side, Mom and Dad stood at the front of the church talking with the minister for what seemed like hours. My younger brother was in Mom's arms sound asleep. My older brother, Joe, was dressed in his only Sunday suit consisting of black pants and a coat with white speckles and a red bow clip-on tie. I sported a pair of red shorts and a white shirt.
While Mom and Dad were busy, we occupied ourselves with exploring the back of the church. Since the building was so small, we soon tired of our efforts and turned out attention to other things. We plopped down on the floor and found that we slid a few inches on the slick, varnished boards. The slipperiness gave Joe an idea for experimentation. He put his hands on the back of the last pew and flung himself underneath the pews on his back. Giggling, he hurried back and repeated the process, hurling himself farther the second time. On his third trip, he included me by having me lie on my back and giving me a shove. I chuckled as I slid quickly under pew after pew. I scrambled back after my trip ended and watched Joe zip by. Each time we slid farther and farther under the pews.
Mom and Dad's backs were to us but the minister started craning his neck to check on these two strange, wild boys. Finally our slides deposited us at Dad's feet and captured his attention. He was horrified at our misconduct and our fun quickly ended. Dad taught us a lesson about the correct decorum in a church that day.
Leaders need to realize that all employees need to have guidelines as to appropriate behaviors in the workplace. Most people will do the right things if the expectations are discussed and clearly expressed. However, if the expectations are not discussed, people will do whatever they think is correct. Usually those behaviors will be acceptable but sometimes employees will be surprised by the negative reaction they receive. That surprise is what leaders want to avoid.