I have a friend who has this theory about workplace behaviour. When I say behaviour, it ranges from doing a good job, being kind, being on time etc. Behaviour in its very broadest sense.

She has this view that what we do is either good or not so good. When we do good, we add credits to an ethereal piggy bank. When we mess up, we loose a few credits from the piggy bank.

I think this is a brilliant observation of human emotion and behaviour. For people that are unkind or late to work one day in ten, we tend to wonder whether they’re ok. For people who are unkind and late nine days in ten, we generally go looking forward the rule book.

If you think about your team, do you know who’s good at saving credits and who’s a reckless spender?

What about you? Could you reflect on your week and work out whether you were in credit or deficit? Would your colleagues agree?

We should all aim to live our lives by building credit. Sometimes we’ll loose a few but we should always have some in the bank for that rainy day when we really need the help and support of our colleagues for those rare occasions when we mess up, and we undoubtedly will.

To err is human!