Above the Line / Below the Line Culture Definitions for Workplace Training
Above and Below the Line is one of my favourite concepts to install into a business because of it’s simplicity and transformation it unlocks for the leaders, the people & culture and by extension the business results.
I believe that “Above the Line, Below the Line” while at just 6 words long is a lifetime deep, but so, so powerful.
I define for leaders and their teams playing Above and Below the Line simply as:
Playing “Above the Line” Definition
Choosing to play Above the Line means:
- You take Ownership,
- You are Accountable for your results,
- You take Responsibility for your actions.
By playing Above the Line, we take ownership of what is happening around us and accept the responsibility and accountability that goes with it. This is the pro-active attitude of a Victor over their circumstances.
Playing “Below the Line” Definition
Conversely, you are choosing to play Below the Line when you:
- You Blame others for failures,
- You make Excuses,
- You Deny the facts.
When something goes wrong, the easiest thing to do is to blame it on somebody else, find an excuse or deny that there is a problem. This ‘playing Below the Line’ is destructive, as it does not resolve anything and problems get worse. Failure becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy for people when they think like this.
This is the toxic attitude of a Victim of their circumstances.
Making the 6 Behaviours Memorable
To make the 6 attitude behaviours more memorable for a team I would explain an acronym for each side of the line.
- Above the Line, you own the ship and have an OAR to steer it.
- Below the line, you make your BED and you must lie in it.
A Positive Culture of Playing Above the Line at All Times
The most common challenge that arises in team relationships is the culture going off the rails because of Below the Line unhelpful mental attitudes.
Shifting Below the Line toxic behaviour in your people to having them on your team playing Above the Line is constructive because taking ownership of, and responsibility for, challenges leads to the resolution of problems. It also ensures that they don’t happen again.
For the past few decades as a Business Mentor I have been coaching this principle of playing “Above The Line” as part of culture building in the businesses I work with. In fact many of my business mentoring testimonials attribute their results to the culture shift from this training.
It’s simple, it’s memorable so it becomes part of a team’s vernacular quickly and I strongly recommend introducing this to your workplace with an agreement to playing above the line at all times.
As always, if you have questions, or would like help simply message me here or click the chat bubble in the lower corner.
