Leading Through Values
A CEO for any organization today, if successful has three important impacts that must be generated:
- They must ignite the possibilities of the vision by empowering employees through values. Creating organizational openness has tremendous upside potential — empowered employees, free flowing ideas, more creativity and innovation, happier customers and better results. Organizations that have a strong sense of purpose and shared beliefs make better decisions. It is critical for the CEO and the team at the top to help employees develop the traits to excel in this type of environment.
They must create alignment by engaging customers as individuals and weave together insights about the whole person from sources that likely have not been consulted in the past. To do so, organizations need stronger analytics capabilities to uncover patterns and answer questions they never thought to ask. Client facing staff and channels must be equipped to act on those insights. And since customers are increasingly mobile, organizations must be active there, ready to engage in the moment and ensuring alignment in the employee-customer-organizaton interaction and relationship.
They must ensure the businesses viability though an executable vision that engages the organization and stimulates innovation with key business partners. Rising complexity and competition have made partnering internally and externally a core innovation strategy for most companies. To enable sustained and mutually beneficial partnerships, organizations will need more, and deeper integrated relationships. This means highly collaborative environments, sharing both data and control. Even when things are going well, CEOs and their teams must introduce new external catalysts, unexpected partners, and intentionally disruptive thinking.
Why do I do the work I do?
Transformation, of any kind is more thrilling than adversity and far more creative than perpetuating the status quo. Because transformation of any scale, global, geo-political, business, existential or personal must eventually succeed and be a wakeful necessity. And because, transformation necessitates stepping out of linearity, process, familiarity and legacy based roles. Change is healthy, change endures. Applied to my view of endurance in work and business; life wins and markets decide. Growth strategies, business models, theories, best practices and operational plans are helpful and necessary for success and to stick around, but not sufficient.
I do the work I do because it is essential. I prefer to work with the willing and capable. To grow is to change; the work of transformation is relevant, meaningful and consequential to business and to life itself. Working with willing and able people, in a context that values learning and performance is where I am at my best, I am most happy, and of my highest value.
I have patterned my life, work and impact in leadership around the following. I believe the good never rest, until your good is your better, and your better is your best.
How do my values align with the work I do — what you can count on from me
Ever since I was a young boy I have been guided by recurring thoughts and beliefs. Some of these, in no particular order are: A clear sense of right and wrong, life is about doing the right thing; give rather than take; situations could always be better; I could always be better; life is not fair, and so what; life is hard, and easy; when it comes to decisions, decide; conflict grows; excuses are weak; possibilities can be realities; make mistake, push forward; potential is unlimited; one person can make a difference; a person is only limited only by oneself; connected relationships matter most; and, serve others, live by your personal code and make a difference.
The values of my life are the underpinning of what make me, me. My values guide what I do and how I do it, and have been the harbinger to all my success. They are my ground in a complex and ever changing landscape. You can count on the expression of my values to show up in every interaction.
Passion
At my core, helping people; friends, family, employees, clients, customers, businesses, schools, governments — to be their best and realize their aspirations. I have an all encompassing belief, energy and direction in the power of what I am able to do and accomplish — I have strength in my convictions — it is my passion and this sense of purpose that leads me not only to think bigger, but to act bigger.
Discipline
Is how I do the things that I do — my internal compass. Doing things right, having an experimental mindset, failing fast, learn and moving on, quickly. I enable people to do, and get things done, and ensuring “the system” is focused to act in kind — whether through individual performance or constructive collaboration as individuals, teams, and the organization at-large. I possess sound judgement. I am clear, direct, and trust that people want to do their best.
Selflessness
Is the emotion that comes from my devotion to others: to family, friends, team, organization, company, and even, the larger world in which we all play, For me selflessness, is a grace and beauty that transcends the all the areas of my life. It stimulates positivity and helps create the bonds that drive meaningful connection and trust.
Respect
I believe respect creates balance in the world — it is dynamic, between individuals, teams, and the organization — each giving and receiving. I respect myself, you respect yourself and one another. I am open, I listen, and I learn. These are the ties that bind relationships, work through tensions and conflict, allow for faster decisions, and help accelerate trust and performance.
Perspective
I understand reality, all of it. I question the status quo. Rapidly absorbing, synthesizing, organizing information to see what some others do not. Seeing ahead, further out to a horizon some others cannot, I connect the dots and share implications within its context. I have an appreciation that life and the organization are larger than I am — so I must broaden the focus. Sharing my perspective and point of view with others is a business imperative and a responsibility.
Courage
I do what’s necessary and right, lead change and be the change required, operate without regard for unnecessary compromise or tradeoffs, even if what needs doing is difficult or could tarnish my reputation or disadvantage me for the future in some way. I do because I must, because it is what is right. I don’t shy away from what is difficult or hard – I have foresight, and I understand that if issues are not addressed in short order, they can inhibit success.
Leadership
I bring out the best in the people with whom I interact with and lead — to find their genius. To engage in a recurring way whether it is with an individual conversation, team work, a group or organizational presentation so that whoever I am interacting with comes away more capable than before the interaction.
Responsibility
My mental preparation is key, no excuses and an unwavering belief that I am accountable. My focused concentration on an issue, opportunity, situation, etc, allows my mind to push my body to its highest performance. There is no excuse for me not “upping my game” and stepping up to deliver, no matter what the issue or the situation.
Resilience
Whether it’s meeting with great success, or abject failure, I do not give up. I stick to stuff and see things through. I persevere through hard times. Failure is an instrumental element of any success. My focus and direction and confidence enable my stick to it-ness. Hope and faith that I can and will do. Maintaining center on a vision and compass, pointed at the horizon are my guide to the ground.
Imagination
I look forward which allows me to escape the predictable. Dreaming and “seeing it” allows me to see beyond the moment, and to transcend circumstances no matter how dire they appear, countering the common wisdom of the “cannot”. Imagination leads to innovation, which is a team sport
Leadership Tenets
In order to accelerate, scale and sustain I believe we must:
- Start at the top, build mindset, focus on results not tasks, and lead by example
- Take an architectural approach, drive robust planning and development based on critical roles and capabilities needed to achieve the vision and business objectives
- Develop leaders who build leaders, building company-wide leadership as a core capability across all disciplines and serves to differentiate the company
- Take an asset management discipline that measures and monitors values, capabilities, goal achievement, results, bench strength and customer impact
- Design the top team as a team, with a collective responsibility to awaken the opportunity of a fully aligned organization and be the key enabler of any impact or outcome
The deep recession of 2008, the acceleration of technical innovation and the complexity of interconnected organizations, markets and governments has challenged CEOs to lead in an uncharacteristically disruptive era.