The Purpose Driven Leader

Leaders of organizations are multi-dimensional.  Some are great at launching and building the business, others are great at sustaining a successful and financially viable business, and some are even adept when it comes to gracefully shutting down a business following a bankruptcy, merger or acquisition.

Regardless of where you fit in the leadership spectrum, the most memorable, endearing leaders are principle-centered, value-centered, others-focused, and driven by a strong sense of purpose. Recently we spent time with a CEO of a prominent health care organization, his actions and behaviors inspired me to define what it means to be a purpose driven leader.

Characteristics of a Purpose Driven Leader

Taking into consideration that at a minimum, all purpose driven leaders are highly competent in their field of work, there are ten key characteristics that set them apart from other leaders.

1. They are customer and employee focused. Purpose driven leaders understand that it takes engaged employees to create loyal customers.  Therefore, they put tremendous focus on creating an environment that helps all key stakeholders thrive.
2. They are people and process driven. Purpose driven leaders understand that you lead people, and manage processes; they know that both are vital in creating a culture of service, performance, and operational excellence.
3. They are principle and value centered. Purpose driven leaders are guided by honesty, integrity, respect for all, passion for what they do, and excellence in everything they do.
4. They have a strong sense of humility. It’s not about them; it’s about positively moving the organization forward. Purpose driven leaders have no problem putting their egos aside, in spite of their level of power.
5. They are open-minded, lifelong learners. Purpose driven leaders don’t pretend to know it all; they revel in the fact that there is always more to learn to enhance their effectiveness.
6. They are revered by their staff. People follow purpose driven leaders not just because of who they are in the chain of command, but also because of what they represent.
7. They are not afraid to admit failure. If it’s for the greater good, purpose driven leaders are not intimidated by failure, it only motivates them to more readily regroup and continue the good fight in achieving and sustaining organizational success.
8. They have a compelling vision. Purpose driven leaders regularly explain their vision for the organization with great clarity, inspiring the team to readily contribute to organizational success.
9. They are happy people. Purpose driven leaders have a positive outlook, and are approachable by all. Even if they’ve had a bad day, just got out of an upsetting board meeting, or just got off of the telephone with a livid customer, they don’t carry bad attitudes on their sleeves.
10. They never give up. Purpose driven leaders are tenacious, and continually in the pursuit of what is good and right for the organization, its customers, and employees.

While my list of key characteristics of a purpose driven leaders are not all inclusive, my hope is that it has inspired you to re-evaluate your leadership style, determine areas where you currently fall short, and commit to an action plan that will move you in the right direction. Why? Because as a purpose driven leader, I am sure you wouldn’t have it any other way.

The Ten Commandments of Leadership

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.

Making a Difference in Learning & Development

Learning and development activities were at an all time low in 2009 due to The Great Recession. However, as the recession is easing and the economy is making a slow, but steady rebound it is our time as learning and development professionals to make a difference.

One thing we know for sure, consistent learning and development opportunities are among of the most effective ways to build sustainable employee loyalty, create organizational alignment, and increase employee pride and joy in their work. So in the long-term, learning and development will play a significant role as organizations begin to recover from the recession.

So how can you make a difference in 2010?

1. Link all learning and development activities like key business priorities; core competencies; identified employee performance gaps; process improvement; and organizational culture. This level of business acumen and progressive thinking could gradually elevate your role from one of a rudimentary trainer eventually to that of Chief Learning Officer.

2. Set up learning and development tracks at every level to include your high potential employees who are on track to become mid-managers; your current mid-managers; and of course, your managers who are on the fast track to becoming emerging executives. If you have an opportunity to benchmark how a true learning organization operates, you’ll find that providing learning at every level is a vital part of their sustainability and success.

3. Next, create a learning strategy and work the plan. If you are not forwarding thinking enough to start working on your strategic plan now, I guarantee you an outside learning and development organization will approach your organization and jeopardize the sustainability of your role within the company. To be considered viable and credible, your plan must incorporate the activities shared in #1 and #2.

4. Make sure you have a cadre of core learning and development programs that are customized to meet business demands, up-to-date, and that create an engaging learning experience for participants. Core learning and development programs that at a minimum should be part of every organization’s library of workshops include: New Employee On-Boarding; Job Specific Training; Workplace Harassment Prevention; Diversity & Inclusion Awareness; and Workplace Safety & Security. Before you add any other programs, make sure these primary learning and development programs are solid.

Bottom-line, while I like the Kirk-Patrick model for evaluating learning and development, if you are measuring the wrong suite of learning and development programs or ineffective programs and add no value to your organization, its simply a waste of time. So commit to making a difference in 2010, and you’ll not only secure the sustainability of your profession but also enhance the level of learning and development activities you bring to the table next year. Believe me, you won’t regret it!

Positioning Your Organization to Succeed

Economicst proclaim that the recession is over! So, is your team ready for the soon to come influx of new business? Well, to ensure your organization is strongly positioned and ready as the economy improves, consider these 8 Essentials for Plotting Your Post-Recession Course.

1. Survey your Customers Now. This will help you logically assess where gaps currently exist in customer service, employee performance, and day-to-day operations. Don’t rely on what you think customers will want and need when the economy recovers; ask them in an inconspicuous manner using a brief survey (paper or electronic) that is no more than 10-15 questions.

2. Refine your Strategic Plan.  Many prognosticators warn that organizations will rebound from this recession with a new definition of “business as usually”, often referred to as “the new normal.” Your new strategy must be one that allows your organization to perform with a high level of efficiency, productivity and sense of urgency, with fewer employees.

3. Retool and Retrain your Staff.  Employers who have continued to invest in training, despite the recession will regain a higher level of profitability quicker. This is largely attributed to their ability to retain their most loyal customers, due to their high level of employee engagement. However, if you were forced to suspend training activities over the past 12-18 months, now is the time to re-invest in employee training to refine their skills as it relates to customer service, problem resolution, and sustaining cost-efficiencies.

4. Refine Your Organizational Culture. During the past 12 months all anyone has been able to focus on is staying financially viable in the midst of the recession. Few leaders have spent any time reinforcing the vision, mission, values, and standards of excellence within their organization. And guess what? If you haven’t been talking about it like a broken record, most likely these important factors in the success of your business are no longer on the radar screen of your employees; resulting in a mediocre to poor customer experience.

5. Update Systems and Processes. Over the last 12 months most likely you were forced to improve efficiencies due to reduction in staff and budget cuts. Many of the systems and processes that were changed, updated, or eliminated may have resulted in increased worker productivity; but most likely no one has had time to document them in writing so that they can be duplicated and sustained with success. Now is a good time to update in writing those systems, process, and especially procedural manuals.

6. Step-Up Accountability at all Levels. If you don’t hold everyone accountable for maintaining cost-efficiencies, as the economy and the financial stability of your organization improves staff may become lax, wasteful, and subtly slip back into old, inefficient work habits. Continue routine monitoring and measurement of departmental expenses, productivity, and customer service; and when the numbers look “out of whack,” hold teams and leaders accountable for explaining why and what they plan to do to get the numbers back in perspective.

7. Re-energize Reward & Recognition. Even small acts of kindness that express value and appreciation go a long way in boosting worker morale, increasing productivity, and improving customer satisfaction. Simply put, there is no disputing that happy employees make happy customers. Inexpensive activities like pizza or ice cream sundae parties in the break room, a handwritten “thank you” note from the boss, or simply acknowledging “how an employee went above and beyond in their job” at a team meeting all go a long way.

8. Increase Marketing Activity. Evidence shows that companies who increased their marketing activity during the recession of the early 1980s grew 275% throughout that decade, compared with 19% growth experienced by those who cut back on their marketing spend.

Bottom-line, if your staff is not properly equipped with the skill and knowledge to succeed based on "the new normal" business model, our organization as a whole will be left behind during the next ecomonic boom.  So start with these tips, incorporate your own, and work aggressively to position your organization to succeed as the economy recovers!

6 Ways to Kill Empowerment

In my previous blog posting, I outlined the top four reasons why managers don’t empower their employees. Either they don’t have the time, think it takes up too much time, don’t want to take on the risk, or they believe it may show their lack of leadership. Whatever the excuse maybe, it is far outweighed by the positive benefits of employee empowerment. So, if you are striving to improve in this area, please be leery of the six ways you can instantly sabotage your efforts.

6 Ways to Kill Employee Empowerment
• Criticize or complain about the employee decision
• Punish decisions made by employees
• Don’t use mistakes as an opportunity to teach
• Don’t trust employees to make decisions
• Have an unwillingness to take risks
• Don’t recognize and reward good decision making

If you are guilty of any of these killer offenses, I urge you to step back and reassess your motivate for empowering others. Is it to help them grow, develop, and flourish in their jobs? Is it to create more work-life balance for yourself? Is it to increase your ability to achieve business goals through team involvement?

Bottom-line, employee empowerment (when done right) achieves results like: increased employee engagement, improved productivity in the workplace, higher customer loyalty, and ultimately increased profits. For tips and coaching strategies for properly empowering your team, effectively delegating new tasks, and gaining back your valuable time, check out some of the best practices we have posted on our website.

Delegation, Empowerment & Time Management http://psbydesign.com/images/articles/TimeManagementJuly09.pdf

Cultivating Employee Empowerment
http://psbydesign.com/images/articles/PSBD_Newsletter_Oct08.pdf

4 Reasons Managers Don't Empower

By definition, employee empowerment is giving your staff the freedom to make decisions without the authority of a manager, after they have been properly trained. Make no mistake, abdicating responsibility to employees because you are too busy, too lazy, or too important to do it yourself is not empowerment – that’s what we call “dumping”.

While true employee empowerment comes with many valuable benefits, few leaders use it as a means of raising the bar and driving excellence within their team. So, why don’t managers empower their employees? Well there are four fundamental reasons:

1. They are too busy. Too often managers are so involved in “doing the work”, that they lose sight of the fact that they may very well have a team of talented employees who can perform those duties with just a little coaching and direction – freeing you up to be the visionary leader you aspire to be.

2. They think it takes too much time. Many managers feel that in the time it takes them to train an employee on a new task, they could have very well taken care of it themselves. Unfortunately, this is short-sided thinking because your employees “never learn to fish” this way, and must continually interrupt you for insignificant matters that they should be capable of resolving on their own.

3. They think it’s too risky. Some managers are fearful their employees will make costly mistakes; in essence these managers are unwilling and afraid to take the risk. They don’t want to suffer the consequences of a poorly executed decision, even if it is a valuable learning experience for the employee.

4. They are secretly intimidated. Some managers question, “what if the employee makes a decision that makes them look smarter than me?” These type managers don’t want to arouse any movers or shakers within the department; thus, mediocre to marginal employee performance is just fine and the most they get out of the team.

So, if you have noticed that your boss rarely empowers you to make decisions or delegates challenging tasks to you, there may be an underlying reason. On the other hand, if you are the boss who rarely empowers the staff to handle routine issues within the department, you might identify with our top four reasons outlined above.

Bottom-line, creating and sustaining a culture of excellence cannot be achieved without fully engaged employees who feel a part of the organization, and feel that they are truly valued contributors to the success of the organization. For tips and coaching strategies for properly empowering your team, effectively delegating new tasks, and gaining back your valuable time, check out some of the best practices we have posted on our website.

Delegation, Empowerment & Time Management http://psbydesign.com/images/articles/TimeManagementJuly09.pdf

Cultivating Employee Empowerment
http://psbydesign.com/images/articles/PSBD_Newsletter_Oct08.pdf

Is the Customer Really First?

Cesar Ritz, a renowned hotelier of the twentieth century, is noted with saying “the customer is never wrong.” This philosophy created the mindset that the customer is the first priority. However, the level of service provided to consumers today has drastically deteriorated since his time…to the extent that many front line employees in hotels, banks, auto dealerships, grocery stores and health care organizations view their customers as a second-class citizen who is rarely right, especially when a problem arises.

With this in mind, here are five points to contemplate in determining whether the customer is really viewed as the first priority within your organization or a distant second or third place.

1. Employee Selection Process - If the customer is truly first, establish a process ensuring only the brightest, most talented and skilled employees are selected to serve your customers. The “warm body” syndrome cannot exist within your organization.
   
2. Ease of Business Interaction with the Customer- If the customer is truly first, implement new technology, systems or processes to make it easier for customers to conduct business with you. Person-to-person interaction would always trump the impersonal, mechanical and endless voicemail prompts typically used today as a substitute for service. Customers want choices but they also want to be a priority.


3. Customer First Service Philosophy - If the customer is truly first, your service philosophy (vision statement, mission statement and service standards) would clearly reflect it. Your service philosophy must be woven into the fabric of the organization; employees wouldn’t know it any other way.
   
4. Senior Leadership Engaged in Service Excellence - If the customer is truly first, then the CEO and senior leaders must be champions of the service philosophy. They must be role models who reflect the characteristics of service excellence within your organization. As a result, they would hold everyone within the organization accountable for living and upholding the highest levels of service possible.
   
5. Empowered Employees - If the customer is truly first, the main focus of every employee must be to deliver a service experience that is guaranteed to create high customer loyalty. This means when a problem or challenge arises, employees are properly trained, empowered and comfortable making decisions to immediately resolve any issue. Employees must be able to satisfy the customer without the approval of a manager. Employees must be the first point of contact for handling the majority of customer issues.
   

Bottom-line, you eat an elephant one bite at a time. Work on those barriers that are standing in the way of service excellence, one thing at a time. If you try to do too much at one time, you will quickly burn out and quit.

I’d love to hear from you. What do you believe stands in the way of a “customer first” mentality in most organizations? Is it the lack of employee empowerment, leadership engagement, or that they just flatly don’t care?