Working at Writers Theatre: Our Code of Conduct

Writers Theatre is committed to providing a generous and equitable work environment for everyone involved in bringing its mission to life. We make this commitment to you as a member of our Writers Theatre team, and we expect you to support that commitment through your actions, too. To that end, we have created the following Code of Conduct as a complement to the WT Personnel Handbook to provide you with guidelines on behaviors and processes.

We work as a team.

• We believe that everyone’s ideas have value.
• We set goals as a team.
• We take calculated risks as a team to achieve our goals.
• We have open and frank discussions with our colleagues.
• We make room for people to respectfully disagree without fear of reprisal.
• We ask for help when needed and step up to give help when requested.
• We continually look for ways we can do better.
• We come together when one of us struggles or makes a mistake, then learn and strengthen the organization.
• We are considerate in the management of our time.
• We respond in a timely manner to the needs and requests of others.
• We make time in our communications with colleagues to be fully present to each other.
• We keep our tone businesslike and friendly.
• We assume the best intentions in others.

We set clear expectations.

• We set realistic expectations and procedures for any task.
• We keep our meetings organized, focused and productive.
• We make sure everyone knows the purpose of a meeting, and what they need to do to prepare.
• We ask questions and look for clarification when necessary, including into the objective behind any assignment.
• We share clear job responsibilities and roles, and systems for accountability.

We acknowledge we’re all different.

• We acknowledge and respect that we all have different perspectives and beliefs.
• We take those perspectives into account, both in casual conversation and while collaborating.
• We embrace each other’s unique work styles, decision-making processes, and personal strengths.

We are transparent.

• We communicate openly and transparently within each department, between departments, and interpersonally.
• We acknowledge when confidentiality makes complete transparency impossible, in which case we are transparent about why.
• We engage our colleagues in decision-making at all levels, whenever possible.
• We strive to communicate clearly (and to all interested parties) when a decision has been made.

We maintain a healthy work/life balance.

• We, both as an institution and as individuals, prioritize the well-being of our colleagues by thinking about how our decisions affect a healthy work/live balance for all employees.
• We each practice self-care, including taking time away from work to be with our families and loved ones.
• We hold each other accountable for doing the same.

We commit to equity, diversity and inclusion.

• We affirm our identity as an anti-racist institution.
• We believe we have a responsibility to help dismantle all forms of systemic oppression.
• We make artistic, administrative, and interpersonal decisions that are firmly rooted in EDI (Equity, Diversity and Inclusion) best practices.

We serve WT’s mission.

• We make sure that everyone working at WT feels connected to the art we make.
• We appreciate and engage with the work that all departments and individuals contribute to the organization.
• We celebrate the ways our own work contributes to the organization and its mission.

We serve each other.

• We treat each other with kindness.
• We share goals and ideals across the entire organization.
• We make time and space for the entire organization to celebrate our hard work, accomplishments, and milestones.
• We take time to get to know each other as individuals, both in our own departments and across the organization.

To download a PDF of our Code of Conduct, please click here.