Creating a work environment that fosters employee loyalty, trust and integrity doesn’t happen by chance. It starts with assessing your ability to govern yourself according to The Ten Commandments of Leadership. As you read them, I encourage you to assess your level of effectiveness in driving service, performance, and operational excellence in 2010.
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS...
1. PURPOSE - I will have purpose and passion in what I do, or I will not do it at all.
2. RESPECT - I will treat every employee, top-down, with dignity and respect.
3. EXCELLENCE - I will set the example of excellence through my actions and behaviors to ensure I have painted a clear picture for my team of what excellence looks and feels like.
4. TEAMWORK – I will cultivate a work environment where employees are encouraged to share ideas, participate in process and system improvements, and work synergistically to provide a better product or service for our customers.
5. ACCOUNTABILITY - I will hold my team accountable for driving and sustaining excellence.
6. CHARACTER - I will exemplify integrity, courage, competence and compassion when dealing with difficult workplace issues.
7. CHANGE - I will seek new ways to improve the work environment for my staff, the quality of products we provide, and the service experience of our customers.
8. COMMUNICATION - I will foster a work environment of open communication, and practice empathic listening to ensure clarity of issues before making decisions.
9. SELF-DEVELOPMENT – I will commit to lifelong learning, to continually increase my competence, business acumen and effectiveness in guiding my team.
10. VISION – I will set the vision for my team, continue to reinforce it and help each team member understand their role in achieving it.
In closing, while these ten personal commitments to higher leadership effectiveness are not all inclusive, I challenge you to consider what are your ten commandments for leadership success? And most of all I encourage you to commit to the leadership values and qualities established within your organization that are vital to creating a culture of service, performance, and operational excellence.
