In the last post I talked about five practices that drive leadership performance. In this and subsequent posts, I will discuss the behaviors that support these five practices. Kouzes and Posner, of the Leadership Challenge, set out two commitments for each practice.
Practice 1: Model the Way
Commitment 1 – Clarify values by finding your voice and affirming shared ideals. The behaviors we emulate are based on our internal value system. Our value system sets the parameters for our decisions and guides our actions. Leaders need to be clear what their values are and then express them in their own unique way. Then, work to build agreement and commitment around a set of shared values that unify and align the organization.
Commitment 2 – Set the example by aligning actions and shared values. So, how do you practically do this? Here are a few ways:
- Set a personal example. People follow what you do, not what you say, so you influence your team members by your behavior. If you were to do a behavior audit at the end of each week, how would your interactions compare to your values? Were you on time to meetings? Did you treat others with respect? How did you confront a problem? What attitudes did you display? Did you follow through on commitments you made? Did you get feedback on how your actions affected others?
- Build consensus. Involve your leadership team in defining the values that are important to the organization. Engage them in describing how they support the values and how it drives the culture of the organization.
- Spend time to embed in the organization. I had a leader once say to me, “We had a meeting at the beginning of the year to outline our values but it’s not going as well as I had hoped. Why isn’t it working?” It’s not enough to have a meeting and then hang your values on the wall. There are a number of things you can do to embed the values in your organization.
One of the best things you can do is tell stories. Highlight something a team member did that exemplified one of your shared values. It’s important to also quickly confront an incident that is not in keeping with a shared value. Don’t let it fester. And finally, reinforce behaviors you want repeated through acknowledging that behavior and through performance reviews.
Here is a next step you can take. Do some personal soul searching. What gets in the way of following through on commitments you make? How would your friends and family rate you on this practice? In what situations are you not the person you want to be – where behaviors are not aligned with values?
Share Your Thoughts: What kinds of conclusions were drawn from reviewing these questions?