Examine your executive team, or any team for that matter. Sure you’ll find several talented, exceptional Class “A” executives. But, almost without exception, you’ll also find team members performing below an “A” level…maybe even one or two at the “C” level.

The fact is the world is made up of “A,” “B,” “C” and even a few “D” players. Demographics of executive teams seldom differ.

Regardless of the talent composition of your team you’re still expected to deliver “A” results, right? It’s complicated and impractical to clean house, so what’s a manager to do?

Here’s the good news: You don’t need all “A” players to deliver “A” results. What you do need is each of your players aligned in mission, vision and values contributing their talents and best efforts to achieve collective “A” performance.

Here are tips to making A + B + C equal A:

1. Understand and acknowledge that it’s not individual accomplishments that deliver the greatest results, but individuals acting together as a team that exceed expected corporate performance.
2. Embrace the idea that every individual possesses strengths that can help the team and further organizational goals.
3. Accept that your job as manager is twofold: a) identify the inherent strengths of individual team members and b) coach each team member to build on and contribute in their areas of strength.
4. Encourage even greater performance through the strengths of “A” players; develop strengths and improve performance of your “B” players; challenge “C” players to “raise the bar” or be ready to move elsewhere; address sub-par performance of “D” players and take appropriate action.
5. Create a team environment of trust in which each team member relies on the other to operate in his/her area of strengths.

Economic reports tend toward the positive. Surveys indicate a bit more optimism. Organizations are selectively hiring and unemployment shows sign of decline.

So begins the rebuilding of a more hopeful, confident society. To do our part, the TAI mission remains the same: Guiding and equipping leaders to impact and transform society. We hope each of you will join us by embracing and living out the tenets of Values-based Leadership. Equip yourself for the journey by reading the free e-book: “The Power of Values-based Leadership”. Now is the time to renew–to lead with purpose, integrity, compassion and humility.

In 2012, become an advocate for Values-based Leadership, at work, at home and at play. Please share your e-book with your friends and colleagues. Let this be the year that we join forces to bring wholeness, health and provision to a hurting world.

Happy New Year!

Davis

Holidays, parties and gifts are all fine, so long as we don’t mention the “C” words, because the “C” words apparently are offensive to some. Some people in the workplace even corrected me when I wished them a happy “C” or a merry “C.”

Look… clearly I want to respect the sensitivities of others, but at the same time, where’s the respect for me and my values?

Rather than judge from our own lens, it seems to me we should celebrate each person’s values, encouraging peaceful and productive expression of those values. We should respect individual belief systems because our acceptance would demonstrate connectedness among us, dependency between us, and humility within us. Humility fosters acceptance; acceptance garners mutual respect; mutual respect fuels hope.

Think about it…most disagreements, arguments and fights come about because we want our own way. Rather than respect the views of others we feel justified shouting them down or locking them out when we don’t agree. We crave and demand our own way, and when we don’t get our way, we manipulate, legislate or demand it.

Such self-focus cheats us and it cheats others – self-focus breeds discontent, disharmony and despair. On the other hand, humility and selflessness are the birthplace of peace, hope and joy.

Whatever holiday season you celebrate this month, I encourage you to explore and celebrate the power of humility – it is a peaceful, joyful transformational force that generates hope.

For me, this season is about hope – hope that we’ll learn to respect and accept others; hope that we’ll consider the wants and needs of others equal to our own; hope that we’ll embrace humility and selflessness to bring joy, peace, hope and healing to a hurting world.

My friend had a valid point. Let’s face it, markets are chaotic, natural disasters abound, unemployment is rampant, foreclosures are sky-high, there’s armed conflict on most continents, and all the while political maneuvering is a pathetic joke… the world just isn’t feeling very grateful right now.

I agree. The world is not feeling very grateful right now. Maybe that’s the problem—we are not feeling grateful. We’re so caught up in what is not to our liking, we’re so focused on things that are not going as we would like, that we’ve lost sight of what is good and right and positive in our lives.

Personal experience teaches me that when I’m not feeling grateful, it’s usually because I’m focused on me. Experience also teaches me that when I look outside myself and focus on others, I find every reason to be grateful.

Consider your work environment Think about what people do well, how they add value, how they contribute to the team. Remembering these things we’re less likely to dwell on the things others don’t do so well.

Reflect on your circumstances. Think about the luxury and convenience in which the majority of those reading this live compared to most of the world. Thinking about the luck, or the fate, that put us in such positive circumstances certainly should compel us to a significant level of gratitude. We have water to drink, food on our tables, shelter over our heads and hope for a better future.

Think about your spouse, children, family, friends and colleagues, and what they do for you, day-in and day-out. Remember the laughter, the love, the joy, the camaraderie we each enjoy as a result of our relationship with others. Focus on such intangibles minimizes the influence of unpleasant and inconvenient circumstances which are out of our control. Focusing on what is good in people certainly minimizes our willingness to criticize or judge.

Pondering my circumstances and relationships, I realize there’s much for which I am grateful—life, health, the world we live in, family, friends, teammates, committed suppliers, loyal clients—and it makes me want to cry out: Thank you!

When was the last time someone gave you a genuine thank you? When was the last time you demonstrated genuine gratitude to another person? True gratitude is mirrored. It brings a lift in spirit to both the giver and receiver.

Perhaps this season we could embrace a positive message, uplift and encourage each other in wisdom and truth, be thankful for our blessings, for what is, with gratitude in our hearts.

Highlighting a high profile CEO, the article says he was fired for “abrasive” personality and management style. Also documented in the article were other prominent CEO’s allegedly let go due to abrasive personalities and leadership styles that alienated others.

What, I wonder, is so odd about firing leaders for having abrasive personalities and management styles?

Aren’t leaders accountable for setting positive examples, living out corporate values?  Aren’t they supposed to create trust and build highly effective executive teams? Can leaders with styles that alienate others genuinely engender the trust and commitment from those following them?

To me, the real question is: Why are leaders with abrasive personalities and management styles left in their roles at all? 

Frequently, it is because they make money for the corporation; sometimes it is due to someone they know; sometimes it is because the company expects obedience, not trust. Sometimes “abrasiveness” is a matter of opinion—what is abrasive to some is hard working, hard driving, success to others.

However, no one I know will commit to someone we don’t trust—an interesting fact is that we tend to trust most those whom we like and for whom we have respect (John Dickson, Humilitas).  Does it not stand to reason that followers will commit more energy and effort to produce more/better results for leaders who aren’t abrasive?

To me, an abrasive management style indicates excessive self-focus, which  typically manifests itself in a demanding, autocratic leadership style coupled with expectations for gains in personal reputation, power and wealth—characteristics that alienate team members and followers, while undermining trust.

Admittedly, my evidence primarily is anecdotal, yet leaders who demonstrate empathy, selflessness and authenticity are most effective in creating organizations that produce the highest employee engagement and deliver better than expected business results.

Leaders I’ve seen fail usually failed first at building trust—and it wasn’t for lack of basic integrity—instead, it was because their followers didn’t trust their motives and didn’t trust the leader to care about them as individuals or as a community. In most cases it turns out the followers didn’t like the leader very much.

The developmental challenge with abrasive leaders is to notice the tendency early in their careers and coach them directly on the issue. Some of what makes certain people seem “abrasive” can have roots in good things that need to be reshaped a bit.

Being fired for having an abrasive personality and management style is odd—really? I don’t think it odd… unfortunately, it’s just rare.

If you are a leader, have you pursued a healthy dose of self-awareness lately?

Recently the Gallup Organization reported: “In average organizations, the ratio of engaged to actively disengaged employees is about 2:1.”This troubling statistic implies about half the employees in most companies are simply punching the clock, getting by with minimum effort, and showing up at work to collect paychecks and health benefits.

“Actively disengaged employees erode an organization’s bottom line while breaking the spirits of colleagues in the process. Within the U.S. workforce, Gallup estimates this cost to be more than $300 billion in lost productivity alone” (www.Gallup.com, August 23, 2011).

Actively disengaged employees are not excited about their jobs, they are disconnected from the work community, and they can have bad attitudes…resulting in limited innovation, minimal teamwork, lackluster customer focus.

What is the antidote for actively disengaged employees?

Ultimately, it’s the leader’s effectiveness in creating vision for a preferred future, in establishing an appropriate, values-driven culture that determines the level of employee engagement and thereby, organizational results.

The antidote for actively disengaged employees is vision, empowerment, trust and fulfillment. And the best remedy is a leader who will embrace and practice values-based leadership.

Are you a values-based leader? Ask yourself the following questions and rate yourself on a scale of 1 to 10 (highest). Better yet, ask your employees to rate you – the answer you receive will indicate how close, or how far, you are from being a values-based leader.

• Provide vision and direction
• Do I provide a compelling vision for the future?
• Do I articulate and live-out corporate values, leading by example?
• Do I act with integrity, valuing people over profit?
• Do I relate to others with humility and compassion?
• Do I strive to provide fulfillment and significance for all employees?
• Do I foster empowerment and teamwork?
• Do I communicate with and coach my team effectively?
• Do I demand accountability for myself and others?

Values-based leadership is about you aligning with and living-out corporate values on a daily basis. It’s about you as a transformational leader bringing true value to employees, suppliers and customers rather than seeking personal rewards, recognition or power.

Wiser than showing half of your staff the door would be examining answers to the questions above. Becoming a values-based leader will make a positive difference in your organization, in the lives of your employees and in your own career.

Will you be the antidote to the Disengaged Employee Epidemic?

Questions? Comments? We would love to hear your thoughts.

Nicole Stempak recently applauded the fact that “companies are looking to manage risk by promoting an ethical work culture. By switching from a controls-based to a values-based approach, ethical conduct can be ingrained into the way they do business-and that can have an impact on the bottom-line.”

Within the past twenty years, in the wake of scandals perpetuated at Enron, WorldCom, Global Crossing and others, Congress rushed to legislation, the SEC implemented more stringent rules and the Justice Department entered the fray. More recently, the still enduring financial crisis prompted authorities to tighten the reins and implement a myriad of regulations and controls. So, are we better off today, now that corporate behavior is appropriately legislated?”

No doubt, the financial interests of shareholders are more stringently in the limelight. On the other hand, benefits are not so clear concerning the driving forces behind every business-its employees and customers-the very forces that enable financial growth so eagerly sought by investors.

Are we missing the point? Are we asking the right question? Instead of seeking to control behavior in corporate America, we should ask: “How do we influence the behavior of corporate executives to choose an ethical path of integrity that meets the legitimate needs of all constituencies – shareholders, customers and employees, alike?”

“70 percent of Ethics and Compliance leaders reported the top corporate priority for this year is growth,” wrote Friso Van der Oord, Leader, Ethics and Compliance for LRN, the company that conducted the 2010-2011 Ethics and Compliance Leadership Survey Report. “An ethical culture is key to fueling that growth. Risks will go down when ethics in organizations are truly lived and truly embedded into the way business is conducted,” he said.

In short, the issue of values answers the question … because values govern our behavior. As long as we condone greed, pride, ego and self-centeredness as acceptable individual values, no regulation can be truly effective.

Our society rewards leaders who achieve financial results, thereby creating wealth for shareholders; however, we conveniently turn a blind eye to the methods, preferring to rationalize that the means justify the end.

Ultimately, we control executive behavior in corporate America through a reward system that recognizes short-term wealth creation as the end goal. Sounds good on the surface, so why would anyone in their right mind chose to tamper with the model? Why surface the questions of ethics, integrity and values?

Because, according to Van der Oord: “An ethical culture is no longer a way to do what’s right morally but a competitive advantage to the marketplace. While business ethics and compliance may have been a technical function in the back office, it is now front and center as a key mindset that differentiates an organization.”

So, what does ethical Values-based behavior look like?

• Values-based leaders lead by example.
• Values-based leaders sacrifice personal agendas and personal recognition for the good of the organization and for the individual good of their employees.
• Values-based leaders ensure their purpose is to serve rather than to be served. They listen, they learn, they inspire respect, they lead with integrity.
• Values-based leaders create value through others, instilling a single-minded pursuit of excellence to meet legitimate needs.
• Values-based leaders hold themselves and their people accountable for their actions.
• Values-based leaders drive long-term corporate results and deliver significant, sustainable ROI.

Values govern behavior: If we understand our values, we can predict behavior. While specific sets of values are neither good nor bad, it is certain that leaders with a particular set of values produce optimal organizational results. And notice these leaders do in fact create wealth, for the long-term, without trampling their employees or cooking the books.

Questions? Comments? We would love to hear your thoughts.

Ever wonder why these difficult, unpleasant or offensive people sometimes manage to get big jobs in organizations?

Typically they’re selfish, arrogant, insensitive, self-focused, greedy, and power hungry — most of us don’t care for them, yet somehow they get promoted. How, exactly, do these people get into powerful and influential positions?

From my perspective, potentially destructive leaders can grab plumb jobs because…

• They consistently do whatever-it-takes to deliver expected results; and/or
• They are politically astute and manage up extremely well; and/or
• They are riding another leader’s “coat tails;” and/or
• No one took responsibility for really understanding who they were placing in power.

While the first three items may not seem earthshaking, consider the implications — none suggest a potential leader’s ability to build trust or to engage and motivate employees. In fact, the opposite happens.

When self-focused, self-absorbed leaders get results at any cost, more often than not employees are the victims, trust is lost and employee engagement flies out the window. And… expected returns turn out to be short term, poorly designed, or not what you wanted in the first place.

An MIT Sloan Management Review article described the phenomenon of bad people getting ahead in organizations. The article suggests two primary reasons for such a leader’s ultimate failure: ‘First, they place their own achievement, success and financial rewards ahead of the organization. Second, they combine poor interpersonal skills with a large ego.”

So, how do you keep the wrong people from getting influential roles in the first place? Based on 30 years of observation, I believe decision makers become enamored with an individual’s short term results and/or perceived charisma and fail to evaluate and determine the person’s values and level of self-awareness.

The importance of self-awareness relative to engaging followers is obvious. Equally clear is the fact that what we believe determines how we behave; therefore, if one believes he/she is the center of the universe, the results are predicable.

To eliminate the risk of placing bad leaders in key roles, hiring managers should consider and evaluate high potential managers and future leaders against the backdrop of values-based leadership:

• Is the potential leader truly self-aware and does he live-out positive personal and corporate values on a daily basis?
• Is the leader focused on delivering results by creating value for all stakeholders, or more focused on personal reputation, position and wealth?
• Can the individual drive engagement and loyalty by building trust with employees, suppliers, and customers?

The good news is, while a narcissist-prone leader might move up the ladder, it’s rare that he’ll stay there.

True leadership effectiveness proves itself over time.

Ponder for a moment the social shifts made by Adolf Hitler and Mahatma Gandhi. Certainly these two were transformational leaders.

The ingredient that separates them is not the concept of transformative leadership, but the values they embraced from which to spearhead transformation.

Transformational Leadership brings change, shifts paradigms, and encourages forward movement within an organization, based on the leader’s power to influence.

What transformational leaders must create—in order for their abilities and knowledge to flourish and live—is a solid foundation, an organization built upon collective, integral values.

The word “value” has many meanings, but for a Values-based Leader, one definition is to have a regard for those of importance. For a Senior Leader, such importance includes every single stakeholder of the company.

Yes, the shareholders.

Yes, the Board of Directors.

Yes, the leadership team.

However, perhaps the most important are all the other people who work for the company, each individual doing the work that results in exceptional performance.

Looking into the mirror, the Senior Leader sees the person who is responsible for instilling cultural values for the benefit of every employee, as well as the other stakeholders.

How, then, do Senior Leader’s live up to the responsibility for so many people?

They provide a strong footing, and a beacon to mark the path to a corporate culture built upon values. They stand as an example and transform culture by embracing for themselves the tenets of Values-based Leadership. Of these, one of the most important and least understood is humility.

Humility is seldom heard in a power-broker’s world. Put simply, humility is respect for the value, or worth inherent in other beings.

Admittedly, when individuals have been laser focused, worked with boundless drive, and fought with courage to attain leadership status, it is understandable that they may forget their journey was not a solo flight.

To lead a high performing Values-based culture, leaders must recapture the respect and appreciation for all who make such flights possible.

Once humility is truly embraced, what follows is a cascading energy, fueled by respect. It is a natural human trait to respond to respect with mutual respect and loyalty.

Humility-based mutual respect opens the floodgates for forward momentum, employee engagement and high performance.

With the assurance of respect, people are more open and transparent in communication, freer with their tendencies to help and support one another, and unafraid to open themselves to new learnings.

The result is a workforce energized, engaged and eager to follow the path their leader has put before them. The result of humility, genuinely displayed, is organizational sustainability and greater success.

Interested in learning more about Values-based leadership?

• Read more about Values-based Leadership here
• Watch our VBL resources here.
• Listen to VBL mp3 resources here.

Many of you might identify with the above statement—or even agree— while others may believe it to be flat-out wrong. Some may suggest that money is necessary to live, that it is a requirement for subsistence, that it provides security and shelter, that it gives opportunity for leisure, comfort and fulfillment. In the corporate sense, many would argue that money enables companies to operate, is the measurement of success, and is the very reason companies exist.

While these beliefs are all founded on an element of truth, I believe this view is lacking.

The contrarian view does not suggest money is unnecessary or undesirable—it does suggest the conventional model misses critical truths. Relationships should be the end goal of businesses and life, and that as a result, financial remuneration will follow as just one component of the resulting rewards.

Consider this: If money is the end goal then our efforts will focus on how to make it, how to grow it, how to keep it. In that example, we inevitably revert to self-focus, we are tempted to compromise ethics, we tend to succumb to questionable motives and we are far too willing to “step on” others, neglecting their interests in favor of our own. While this path may lead to short term corporate success—or in the case of individuals, a full bank account—this way of operating does not bring sustainable, lasting corporate results, nor does it offer personal significance or meaningful success.

We are relational beings who thrive in community and who find meaning in caring, respectful, trusting relationships. These relationships cannot be adequately formed if we are self-focused, lack integrity, or pursue personal agendas that disregard the needs of others. Herein lies the folly of money as the primary goal: It causes us to push aside the values we, deep inside, believe to be true—values like integrity, compassion, humility, gratitude, greater purpose. Instead, money entices us to do whatever it takes to achieve financial ends.

There is a better way. Imagine a society where each individual was most concerned about relationships and in bringing value to others. What if we each were totally committed and completely engaged to lifting up family, friends, co-workers, suppliers, clients and customers? What if, instead of seeking to maximize our own wealth and status we were to labor to improve the quality of life and personal fulfillment of each person with whom we come in contact?

What then would be the result?

The contrarian view believes by focusing on others, by doing what is right (yet not necessarily profitable), by meeting the needs of employees, by exceeding client expectations, then we each would be rewarded handsomely with strong, trusting, mutually beneficial relationships that endure and last—and that financial success would follow as a reward, not as a goal.

Take a moment to examine your view. Do you believe that money is the goal or do you put relationships first? Now, check your actions. Do they line up with what you say your beliefs are? Does what you do reinforce what you say? What can you change today to evidence a value of relationships over money? What can you do to add value in the lives of others?

Consider taking the VBL challenge. See for yourself if an outward focus committed to raising up others and bringing them value doesn’t bring you more…more satisfaction, more respect, more joy, more trust…and yes, even more money. Try it for several months and let us know what you think. Maybe we all will be surprised by the results.