The Business of Leadership & Values
Human behavior is incredibly interesting, predictable and generally guided to success when the cornerstone is measured in fairness.
In all endeavors, whether lasting corporate business decisions or personal life choices, the virtues of leadership determine our success. Many leadership trainers and authors spend volumes offering ideas on the secret of leadership. The topic is often presented with endless ideas of its illusive qualities. For good reason, our best examples come from those who have been chosen for coveted positions in business and government. As a result, examples of historical leader challenges from every spectrum of the human experience are often adopted as…the cornerstones of leadership.
The greatest challenge in the study of leadership, and the key to “ultimate success”, begins and matures with …a genuine understanding of people. In simple terms, this endeavor is called leadership because it is about the human spirit. An equally important component of success rightfully begins with an honest self assessment. That being said, the certainty is a supervisor cannot effectively lead for any length of time without understanding the principle of ...genuinely caring about people. Clearly, winning is not about telling people what to do, it is more about caring about their success. Success in leadership also has to do with aspiring to become an expert in your field with a set of seasoned attributes based in understanding, experience, and vision.
Trusted advisers and business staff are critical to every process. This may seem to be an apparent observation, but it is often not contemplated until business values have be compromised. Although leadership is about you …it is as much about those you select to be on your leadership team. This is a basic but critical tenet for success in all group and/or team initiatives. It follows that, you as a leader, must indisputably know your team leaders ...they are your advocates. If you take nothing else from this writing, my sincerest plea is that you are “genuine” in caring for those you supervise. Treat them with noble standards. Never, so to speak, attempt to manipulate or be crafty with them. Lead by the adage that ...what you give will be returned to you.
Human behavior by its nature is incredibly interesting, predictable and generally guided to success when the cornerstone is measured in fairness. For purposes of illustration and emphasis consider the implications of the message offered in a well known bank investment commercial which portrays --the principle of fairness. The commercial shows two children standing before a nicely dressed business man preparing to give them each a horse as a gift. The first child is given a "real horse", the child is very excited and thrilled about his gift. The second child, in excited anticipation, patiently observes and waits his turn. When the business man invites him to come forward for his turn, he hands the child a "broomstick" made to look like a pony. The camera immediately captures the child’s facial response. It did not require any words, it is obvious –you just treated me differently, unfairly, are you kidding me…he got a real pony and I got a broomstick! The bank’s message is that they treat all their customers with the same care and consideration. The moral of the story for us in leadership is ...if a child understands the idea of fairness and caring, or the lack thereof …an adult with their life experience’s --clearly see’s the unfairness. In the world of business your team may not say anything, but the impression is etched in stone. A person of great wisdom once said …always remember, the only thing more important than the things you do is the motivation behind them.
No matter your position of leadership, whether you are a little league baseball coach, a small business owner, or corporate executive, your greatest responsibility is leadership. Always strive to live by the ethical value captured and characterize in the old American business tenet that …the value in doing the right thing --is anchored in doing what you would expect of others.
Also, let us not overlook the importance of mentoring as a leadership responsibility. Skilled supervisors are responsible for guiding others to their potential. If this important responsibility is overlooked, no matter whom you are leading, your success will be limited. One of the greatest failures in leadership comes to our doorstep in the form of…failing to mentor. Day to day mentoring, by example or casual interaction, is often more impressionable than structured employee training development programs. It offers skilled supervisors the opportunity to build their team using a genuine professional relationship approach.
Guiding employees is always tied to time, money, and other resources, so it is that mentoring plays a "center field" role in business success. Let’s say, hypothetically, you bring on a new hire, you did this only after “careful consideration” of his/her qualities and obvious potential. For emphasis, your skilled staff has the responsibility to mentor, and in high expectations, ensure his or her success. In time, a weakness or shortcoming in this employee is brought to your attention. It is not an ethical or legal issue. As a leader you are determined to fix the problem so you instructed your staff to immediately take steps to get him/her on back on track. Ultimately, improvement is not seen so, as the boss, you consider termination.
At this point in the aforementioned example, allow me to bring us back to our discussion of general leadership tenets. Tragically, so often in our drive to fix personnel problems we fall short in the implementation of employee proficiency/development processes. How often in dealing with sensitive employee issues do immediate supervisors, by contemplation, complete a self-assessment by asking: 1). How did this happen, 2). What responsibility did I/we have in allowing this particular employee deficiency to come about, 3). Did I/we attentively provide the training, mentoring and supervision to guarantee success, and 4). Are there any deficiencies in our leadership approach. It may be convenient to simply chalk it up to --"they were just not a good fit." The reality is that -in this process- the goal should always be measured in the parameters of a search for: being fair, striving to always do the right thing, and flourishing in your business values.
As a leader our objective is to not lose anyone, but in some circumstances, and for various reasons an employee may be lost. But, be certain that no employee is ever lost due to inadequate training, supervision, or the lack of effective mentoring. As a final thought, if such a circumstance occurred on the battlefield, in war, it would be regrettable. In that situation, a person loses their life. Although in our business example the outcome may not have to do with life and death. It does, however, have to do with "the value of a person" and real business success. In the world of business it is always about profit, but it is also about values, and in business ...values matter.