Sore Spot with Teachers Teaching Values and Beliefs

I've often been surprised when parents complain that their child is being taught values and beliefs at public schools. Parents take their values and beliefs to work with them each day and impart them on their employees; what makes Teachers any different?

The enclosed link refers to a news article in California where a Teacher put down Jesus. I'm not here to say it's right or wrong because I don't have all the information. I want to peak your interest. http://www.modbee.com/opinion/letters/story/162291.html

Did you give any thought to the School Values where you send your child(ren) to school? What about the Values of the School's Principal. Now, let's bring this closer to my expertise. When you went to work for your employer, did you consider the organization's values or those of it's leadership?

If we blindly choose employers and schools, can we really be surprised by the outcomes?

Welcome The Newest Member to the Team

Today is not about business, it's about family. My first grandchild was born this morning at 10a.m. Brody Ford is 8lbs. and 20 inches with a head full of dark hair. It's moments like this that remind us of the true value in life, it's family and relationships.

During this holiday season, keep this thought in mind and value those relationships that you have.

Merry Christmas to all!

Culture Values Create Wealth

Organizational values have value. The best method to accelerate wealth creation in your organization is to ensure that your leaders live, model and exhibit the organization’s values. The leaders must ensure that they model those values with valor; setting the example and having the character to do the hard right versus the easy wrong.

Leaders must be mindful that the values you reward in your organization will foster a subsuquent behavior. The question is; is this the behavior that you want from your employees?When you build total organization development that includes emphasizing organizational values in every aspect, it drives your workforce to achieve organizational objectives.

Here’s a suggestion; create a continuation program. It is a program designed for employees to appreciate the organization’s uniqueness, value and culture. It’s an ongoing process beyond orientation that reminds and reinforces your organizational values.

How do you exhibit the rich culture of your organization?

Create a detailed history of your organization from the time of its establishment and the challenges it faced along the way and list what it has been able to achieve thus far.

Link each challenge to one or your organizational values. Create the roadmap for success that illustrates your business can overcome challenges and hard times.

What are your Organization's Values Worth?

I conducted a fun and interesting workshop this past week. First question out of the gate was "How many of your organizations have organizational values?" Of course, as you would expect, everyone's hand went in the air. My next question quieted the room so much, you could hear the electrical current running through my laptop. I asked, who can tell me what their organizational values are? Stunned silence!

Every business and association I work with has values, and very few of them can tell me what those values are. Values drive an organizations mission and objectives. If the workforce doesn't know what the businesses values are, how can they possibly accomplish the mission and achieve the business objectives? Going through the motions will keep a business going, but will not allow it to thrive and grow.

If your business really wants to create value for all stakeholders; shareholders, customers, the public and employees, then you need to ensure the following three things happen:

1. Have clearly defined organizational values and value
2. Interpret those values and value for all stakeholders
3. Ensure the values and value are reminded and reinforced regularly

One participant came up to me after the program and stated "You know, your're right. I can't begin to calculate the financial cost to our organization. I can guarantee you this though, we will go back to the drawing board, have you come in to assist us and calculate the difference between our current and past performance."

How much is it costing your organization in terms of financial performance?

Lack of Appreciation has Consequences

I attended a banquet this weekend for an organization in which they give out awards for achievement and for longevity. The awards are presented to both the employee and their spouse for support of the organizaiton's efforts. During the longevity awards, which are given for 5 year increments of service, there was a gentlemen at my table who had a noticeable look on his face. My wife attended the event with me and she leaned over to him and asked "was he okay?"

It seems that the organization neglected to recognize he and his wife for his five years of service. This organization has a rather high turnover rate (an organization with whom I have not consulted with on retention) and a seemingly simple mistake like this can act like a pebble in a pond.

I was approached by the organization's leader and the subject came up. His response was "I was unaware that he was due this award." Unfortunately, that excuse doesn't fly in our technological age. The ability to parse data and determine when someone joined the organization and in turn to recognize them is a rather simple task, if organizational retention is important to the organization and it's leadership. Apparently in this case, it is not.

After some discussion, it seems that this neglected employee has decided that he will be moving on shortly. It's unfortunate that the lack of emphasis and attention to detail will cost this organization a highly skilled worker.

Who is your organization failing to appreciate?

It's Not My Job!

I've spoke with many business professional's who have become extremely frustrated with employees and leaders who state "It's not my job!"

Unfortunately, leaders do not do a great job of setting expectations when it comes to onboarding employees. An employee's or leader's "job" is to create value for all stakeholders; shareholders, customers, employees and the public. They accomplish this by doing whatever it takes, so long as it is legally, ethically and morally correct. Their career; accounting, HR, IT, sales, etc., does not matter.

I've held senior leaderhsip positions and I've mopped floors, taken out trash and answered the ringing phone. It's a leaders responsibility to set the example and the expectation from the begining, at the recruitment phase.

American businesses are loosing their competitive advantage by not setting the standards upfront, holding people accountable and growing their business on many of the values that this great country was founded upon.

Leadership's Competitive Advantage

As a values-based leader, your values define the culture of the organization. The culture you create is your competitive advantage in the marketplace. In order to change the organization, it must begin with personal change.

Once the individual leaders change, and begin to build team cohesion amongst the leadership team, then and only then will a true competitive advantage be achieved.

Organizational change will only occur when individual leaders at the top set the example. Here's the simple truth:

1. Developing values-based leaders drives employees engagement.

2. Employee engagement drives customer satisfaction.

3. Customer satisfaction drives your profits.

I've said many times that Aristotle got it right when he spoke of the three proofs or appeals. He spoke of Pathos (emotions), Ethos (Character) and Logos (logic). It takes leaders with Values (emotions) who execute them with Valor (character) to create Value. We determine value logically.

In order to create a high performance organization, values-based leadership development must take place. In doing so, you will create value for all stakeholders; shareholders, customers, employees and the public.

The Leadership Effect: Influence

It seems as leaders, we get short-sighted sometimes. I experienced a great joy this evening. Nine years ago, while I was a soldier at Ft. Bragg, NC assigned to the 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne), I had a young soldier named Michael P. that worked for me.

One of the things that I did with new soldiers was have them write down their personal and professional goals. I couldn't help them achieve them if I didn't know what they were. Michael's goals were to go to Officer Candidate School (OCS), finish his degree and eventually become a Special Forces Qualified soldier.

Michael and I stayed in touch over the years as he completed OCS. Then attended degree completion for his Bachelor's. We talked more as he was a Rifle Platton Leader in the 101st Airborne in Kentucky, before and after his deployments to Iraq. We spoke even more as he returned to North Carolina to attend the Special Forces Qualification Course.

I had the tremendous honor of watching my former soldier, and good friend Michael P. earn his Green Beret this evening at a ceremony at Ft. Bragg.

See, leadership is about influence. We often get short-sighted about the task or project at hand, and neglect to look at the bigger picture. Leaders with values, who really care, influence lives, not just company's, projects or tasks.

Well done Michael!
De Oppessor Liber!

Grow Employees - Grow Your Business

One mission will grow your business. Build your people, focus on that mission, and they will build your business. It may sound simple, but many things in life are. Notice I didn't say easy, just simple.

When illness strikes: Leadership Succession

It's a terrible thing to loose a beloved leader. I know this from first hand experience during my military career. It takes a strong organizational culture to continue at the same peak levels when the death of a leader occurs.

The glue that holds it together are the organizaiton's values. As long as the leader who succeeds continues to live, model and exhibit the values of the organization, their transition will be relatively smooth.

Here are some suggestions for helping to get through this difficult time:

• Acknowledge the passing leaders contributions and provide examples of how they modeled the organization's values.
• Reassure personnel that those values live on with the organization.
• Provide personnel with an immediate example of how you will execute a project, task or mission with the same values.
• When employees feel they share the same values with executives and senior leaders, difficult times can be overcome. In the end, everyone is better for it.

Gossip Kills

Is Office Gossip Hurting Your Business?

As leaders, we have a responsibility to stop all gossip in our organizations. First, it kills morale. Second, it impedes productivity. What values is your organization investing in? Look at the values you reward and you should be able to determine the behavior you can expect. There are a few things you can do to squelch office gossip:

1. Set the expectations during recruitment, the interview and during orientation.

2. Stop it immediately when noticed and remind the offenders that it is not valued at the company

3. Terminate repeat offenders. These individuals are not the proper values-fit for your organization

The greatest impact on organizational performance and employee behavior is the example that executives and senior leadership provide.

Follow the Leader

We all remember this game we played as children. There's a great lesson to be learned from follow the leader. As Dr. John Maxwell says, "Leadership is caught as much as taught." Remember, the gist of the game was to always to do whatever the leader did. It didn't matter whether the leader jumped, you jumped, if they stepped on a line, you stepped on a line.
The same is true in business. People do what people see. Leadership is about setting the example, what I call Valor. It's having the character to do the hard right vs. the easy wrong. While setting the example, we create experiences. People will remember memories long after the gift is gone.

Leadership is:

Chosen
Fun
Visible
Valuable
Memorable

Lead, follow and get out of the way. Sometimes you must do all three at some point. Remember, Valor is visible so take the hard right over the easy wrong.

Engaging Employees

Organizations have the greatest impact on employee engagement. A new study released by Towers Perrin, a Management consulting firm in Stamford, CT titled "The Global Workforce Study" confirmed the most powerful driving factors are Senior Leadership, learning and development and the organizations reputation. The study examined the relationships with supervisors and areas of rewards, development and leadership. The study examined 40 global operations and found a direct relationship between "high employee engagement" and better financial performance in operating margin, net profit margin, revenue growth and earnings per share grow as compared to "low employee engagement" companies.

Organizational Values are critical factors to engaging employees. The study revealed that the words and actions of the senior leadership had the greatest impact on worker engagement. Only 21% of workers feel engaged. This leaves much room for improvement. Furthermore, the companies that have highly engaged employees have higher retention rates.

The study confirms the 3V Leadership concept of Values, Valor and Value; it takes Executives and Senior Leaders who live organizational Values with Valor to create Value. This is how employees stay engaged and retained while organizations grow and prosper.

The Value is Greater than the Behavior

It's a mindset. You have to know somethings value rather than the behavior you expect. Let's use respect as an example. Growing up, I was taught to say "Yes sir, No sir, and Yes ma'am, No ma'am", but that was the behavior. Instead, I value respect. Meaning, I place a great importance on showing others respect. It's the intent behind the action. I've often said, "Action without intent, is merely motion." Don't be in motion.
What value is greater than the behavior for you?

Business Rules Have Changed

For centuries business have been afraid to break the rules. The rule was that customers ruled. Well, the rules have changed. If you keep employees happy, they'll keep customers happy.
The truth is, and yes, I'm going to say it...there's a "paradigm shift" happening. The looming workforce shortage requires that we take a different look at our businesses. Otherwise, it will become costly to your business.

The single greatest expense to any business are it's employees. If your turnover rate is double digit, it means your loosing a bunch of money! How do you fix it?

You must realize that as people stay longer in your organization, values and what they value shift. When you hire a new college graduate, are they really concerned about the medical benefits...I know when I was in my early 20's I felt invincible. So do they. They want the red sports car, time off for adventure and to be challenged. As the years go by, they want to marry, have kids and trade that red sports car in for a mini-van.

Tips for breaking the rules:

• Conduct "keep'em" interviews regularly
• Offer flexible/modularized benefits packages
• Create a values-based culture
• Develop Valuship - Values-based leaders
• Encourage and assist life/work balance not work/life balance

If your business neglects to make these changes:

• Your recruitment costs will increase
• Your profits will decrease
• You'll lose intellectual capital
• You'll lose customer continuity
• You'll lose profits...did I mention that?

Remember, breaking the rules doesn't have to be painful or costly. You can make them fun, rewarding and profitable.

Leaders with Values executed with Valor create value for both employees and customers.

Where do you stand?

Have you ever thought about all those friends you grew up with? Where are they now? Many of you may still live close by and see those individuals. We all knew kids that we thought just wouldn't make much of themselves, and then there were those we knew were destined for greatness. Why?

Well, I have a few toughts on the subject that directly pertain to your growth as a leader. I strongly believe that where you stand in life is greatly impacted by those you stand with. I've often told my daughter that she should choose her friends wisely, they have a large influence on you. Organizations are the same.

Have you chosen a company that you are willing to stand with? Will this company allow you to grow to your destiny? Who have you surrounded yourself with?

Retention is like a Marriage - Part III

The Marriage

Now we have the new hire on the job. You've both made a commitment. Hopefully for life. Some relationships even have pre-nuptial agreements. This might not be a bad practice for businesses. If certain expectations and criteria or performance standards are not met in a given time period, then it sets forth the guidelines for dissolution, but let's not discuss that quite yet.

If you give your employee the following:

• Support
• The opportunity to grow and learn
• Challenges
• Creative leverage
• Flexibility

Then you start to set the stage for a long lasting relationship. My parents have been married for 47 years. Their generations employees did the same, stuck it out, worked on the relationship as it evolved. It takes valor, courage to make a relationship work.

You can use some of these ideas to help along the way:
• Date night. This is the opportunity to keep those embers glowing.
• Remind each other why you joined together
• Communicate regularly, openly and respectfully. Don't say or do anything that you wouldn't want to do in front of your mother.
• Take sabbaticals from one another - do things with others. It helps you appreciate what you have. Employees can do volunteer work.

This third part of this series encapsulates my philosophy. It takes Values executed with Valor to create value to both employees and customers.

In the last part of this series, we'll discuss the divorce (exit interview and termination).

Retention is like a Marriage - Part II

The Engagement
Guess what? This means she likes me, she really likes me. And now, she's agreed to stay with me for a while. Now it's time to meet the family. You've already discussed your shared values, so now it's time to test this portion of the trust relationship.

What I'm referring to is the orientation process. You take the new hire around to meet the team. Introduce them to the key players in this family. But like most families, it's dysfunctional like any other family. Hopefully you've share this too.

Now's the time when you get to share:

Individual and organizational expectations
Performance standards
Criteria for success

This is just like when my wife and I engaged. We spoke and set forth that she would have her money, I would have my money and then we would have family money. I would pay the mortage and investments, she would buy the groceries and we'd split the utilities.
We discussed that the household chores would be shared. We even discussed the things to avoid.

Like my every weekend addition to sky-diving.
These are the same discussions you need to have with new hires. As with my marriage, this discussion...process took time. Months to be exact. So too should your orientation process. It gives you time to re-recruit them during this process. Keep stoking the fire of their heart.
In the next section, we'll discuss the marriage.

Retention is like a Marriage - Part I

There is a very close correlation between marriage and employee retention. I've been discussing this for sometime now, but thought I would write about it. I've often said that retention begins at the hiring process

Woo-Me
Often times when courting, you ask friends or friends of friends about the individual you are interested in. This is similar to sourcing and selecting candidates for your organization.

You begin asking questions - the interview process begins
You may use flowers, dinner, movies, etc. - these are your organizational interview practices.

Are you punctual?

You chat, email, text message - these are your communication processes with applicants. Are you "fronting" or being truthful?

You can see where I'm going with this. This is where you lay the foundation for the relationship. Is it love at first sight or do they grow on you?

I know that when I asked my wife for her phone number the first time, she said, I'll give it to you, but "you won't call," most guys are that way. You see, the trust factor wasn't there, so I (as the employer) had to prove my trustworthiness. When we parted that first evening, I knew she had a long drive home, so I immediately went to a pay phone (you can tell this was some time back) and called, left a voice mail for her stating I would call the next day at 2pm.

What did I do, Sunday, the next day? I called at 2pm, sharp.

How are you convincing prospective applicants that you are different, that you have something special to offer that is worth a lifetime?