Clarify Values
The very first step on the journey to credible leadership is clari-
fying your values—discovering those fundamental beliefs that
will guide your decisions and actions along the path to success
and significance. That involves an exploration of the inner ter-
ritory where your true voice resides. It’s essential that you take
yourself on this journey because it’s the only route to authentic-
ity and because your personal values drive your commitment to
the organization and to the cause. You can’t do what you say if
you can’t say what you believe. And you can’t do what you say if
you don’t believe in what you’re saying.
Although personal values clarity is essential for all leaders,
it’s insufficient alone. That’s because leaders don’t just speak
for themselves; they speak for their constituents as well. There
must be agreement on the shared values that everyone will
commit to upholding. These give people reasons for caring
about what they do, which in turn makes a significant and posi-
tive difference in work attitudes and performance. A common
understanding of shared values emerges from a process, not
a pronouncement; unity comes about through dialogue and
debate, followed by understanding and commitment. Lead-
ers must hold themselves and others accountable to a set of
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shared values, which is a topic explored more fully in the next
chapter.
Model the Way begins with clarifying values by finding your voice and affirming shared values. This means you have to
• Examine your past experiences to identify the values you
use to make choices and decisions.
• Answer the question, What is my leadership philosophy?
• Articulate the values that guide your current decisions,
priorities, and actions.
• Find your own words for talking about what is important to
you.
• Discuss values in various recruitment, hiring, and on-
boarding experiences.
• Help others articulate why they do what they do, and what
they care about.
• Provide opportunities for people to talk about their values
with others on the team.
• Build consensus around values, principles, and standards.
• Make sure that people are adhering to the values and
standards that have been agreed on.
Use The Leadership Challenge Mobile Tool app to immediately integrate these activities into your life and make
this practice an ongoing part of your behavioral repertoire.
71
Set the Example
KANEKA TEXAS IS A specialty polymer manufacturing company in Pasadena, Texas. In operation since 1984, the plant had been through a number of growth spurts when Steve Skarke sud- denly found himself tapped to be the plant manager in 2002. Steve readily admits that he was unprepared for the job, but after a few years of “trial-and-error leadership,” he started honing in on his own style of leading, which usually included some rather unorthodox ideas—at least for the mostly conservative crew at Kaneka.1
Steve wanted to make a real change in the state of housekeeping around the site. For a couple of years, the manufacturing manage- ment team had been discussing the vision of becoming a “World Class Plant.” They debated the defining characteristics of a world-class plant and agreed that a strong culture of safety and good housekeeping should be at the top of the list. Looking around, Steve could clearly see that the housekeeping conditions at Kaneka did not meet the company’s shared vision. In fact, whenever they had a pending customer visit, Steve would have to remind everyone to
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G E make an extra effort to clean up. This included sending people out
to pick up trash in the plant, on the roads, and in the parking lot. It was a disruption to daily activities. Steve knew there had to be a way to make cleaning a part of their daily routine. It would take a cultural shift.
One day while Steve was out at lunch, he stopped into a hard- ware store and bought a two-gallon plastic bucket. He put the words “World Class Plant” on the side of the bucket. “That afternoon,” Steve said, “I walked through the plant and picked up as much trash as I could fit into my bucket, and it was overflowing. I then walked through the main control room with my bucket of trash and, with everyone intently watching, emptied it into a trashcan and simply walked out the other door, saying nothing. Word spread that I was in the plant with a bucket picking up trash.”
Each time Steve ventured out with his bucket in hand, he made sure that he would be seen. It didn’t take long for more buckets to appear. Other managers went out into the plant to pick up trash each day, setting the example for all to follow. Pretty soon Steve walked through the control room, operators would ask how much trash he was able to find. If his bucket was full, he would walk by the supervisor’s office and hold it up for inspection. The process that Steve had started by his visible example soon became the norm.
“Over the course of the next few weeks or so,” Steve reported, “trash disappeared from the plant, and it was getting more difficult for me to put anything in my bucket. On ‘empty bucket days’ I would make a point to stop by the control room and thank the gang for their efforts. It became an inside joke with some of the operators.”
In addition to the actual trash removal, the activity started generating lots of discussion and new ideas about how they could
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make the job of cleaning the plant easier. Trash cans that had been previously removed were put back in key areas where collection would be easier. The operation staff agreed to maintain these cans and came up with more ideas to better organize their work areas. The maintenance technicians began carrying buckets around to keep parts and trash contained to make cleanup quicker and easier. During this time, a new program called “My Machine” was also enacted: each operator was assigned a certain piece of equipment to clean, paint, and, to ensure proper operation, learn about its function.
“By simply deciding to venture out and start picking up trash,” Steve told us, “I was modeling the way by aligning my actions with the shared value of having a clean plant. It also helped me ‘find my voice’ around this very important issue of housekeeping. I made it personal for everyone. In a short time, many others were setting the same example.
“I don’t really remember how long it took,” Steve recalled, “but one day I decided to retire my bucket. I made it clear to everyone that the team had made a real cultural shift and that I would no longer give any advance warning of customer visits. . . . I am proud of the team and what we accomplished, and I have been able to keep my promise of not asking for special attention in advance of visitors. I simply announce the visit and comment that ‘I know the plant is ready!’ ”
They are still working to improve housekeeping at Kaneka Texas; it’s a never-ending battle, and one that fits their shared value of continuous improvement. But the very simple action of one leader resulted in a huge cultural shift in the organization. And Steve still has his bucket in his office as a reminder that setting the example works and that his job is never finished. “What is the next shared value that needs to be reinforced?” Steve asks. “What is the next
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G E process that needs to be challenged? What else should I put in my
leadership bucket?” Steve’s story illustrates the second commitment of Model the
Way—leaders Set the Example. They take every opportunity to show others by their own example that they’re deeply committed to the values and aspirations they espouse. No one will believe you’re serious until they see you doing what you’re asking of others. You either lead by example or don’t lead at all. Leading by example is how you provide the evidence that you’re personally committed. It’s how you make your values tangible.
In Chapter One, we reported that our research has consistently revealed that credibility is the foundation of leadership. People want to follow a leader in whom they can believe. And what makes a leader credible? We said that when people defined credibility behav- iorally, they told us it meant do what you say you will do, or DWYSYWD for short. This chapter on Setting the Example is all about the do part. It’s about practicing what you preach, putting your money where your mouth is, following through on commit- ments, keeping promises, walking the talk, and doing what you say.
Being a credible leader means you have to live the values. You have to put into action what you and others stand for. You have to be the example for others to follow. And, because you’re leading a group of people—not just leading yourself—you also have to make certain that the actions of your constituents are consistent with the shared values of the organization. An important part of your job is to educate others on what the organization stands for, why those things matter, and how others can authentically serve the organiza- tion. As the leader, you teach, coach, and guide others to align their actions with the shared values because you’re held accountable for their actions too, not just your own.
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In order to Set the Example, you need to
• LIVE THE SHARED VALUES
• TEACH OTHERS TO MODEL THE VALUES
In practicing these essentials, you become an exemplary role model for what the organization stands for, and you create a culture in which everyone commits to aligning himself or herself with shared values.