Passion Part IV - Principles

In this series of posts, I write about passion as a force multiplier in an organization and the creation of passion through individuals who know their role, are convinced their role matters and see the good of their work.  I argue that leaders must focus on five elements to create this level of passion; vision, culture, principles, style and sacrifice.  The previous posts discussed vision and culture, this post is about principles.

Principles or boundaries?  Words matter and boundaries just might be a better word for this topic.  Principles are accepted or professed rules of conduct or action; boundaries are something that indicates a border or limit.  Why would a border or limit increase passion?

How can controlling someone release them to pursue their role with passion?

Many years ago there was a study of child behavior.  Two identical school yards were designed. The yards were the exact same dimensions, terrain and elevation.  Both had a flagpole in the middle of the yard.  The only difference was that one yard had no fence and the other was fenced-in.  In the schoolyard with no fence, the children played in a tight circle around the flagpole.  In the yard with the fence, their play consumed the entire yard.  The control of the fence released their play.  

Another example of control and release is musical improvisation where creativity is based upon melody, harmony or rhythm.  Think about harmony; an instrument produces sound waves that cause air to vibrate at a specific frequency.  At any particular frequency, there will be an overtone at multiples of that frequency.  Our ears perceive the matching up of overtone waves as harmony.  If the improvisation does not occur at the exact multiples of the frequency, we will hear distortion rather than music.  The control of the math behind the overtones releases the creativity that allows improvisation to occur in harmony.

As leaders we must set up principles or boundaries within our organization.  The use of these boundaries will release people much like the school child in the study or the creative musician.  Boundaries that work are Getting it Done and Doing it Right.  The basic principle is both/and, not an either/or.  Our teams must know we expect them to Get it Done and Do it Right.  The both/and is the boundary, the control around which all creativity is encouraged. We are telling our teams we care about what they do and how they do it.

Imagine a 2x2 grid where the vertical axis is Getting it Done (low to high) and the horizontal axis is Doing it Right (low to high).  An assessment of each individual in the organization would create a grid populated with four potential outcomes:

1. Low GID, low DIR - Exit Door - unless something changes this person needs to leave
2. Low GID, high DIR - Coaching Time - all the right ingredients, this person needs to be taught how to do their job well
3. High GID, high DIR - Role Model - this person is studied and raised up to the organization
4. High GID, low DIR - Roadblock - the dangerous one, this person needs to leave quickly, keeping them in the organization will derail your plans.

Labels such as Getting it Done and Doing it Right are ambiguous and clarity must be brought into the boundaries. Getting it Done reflects the person's ability to do the job assigned and has three elements to it; a) does the person have the requisite knowledge and skills? b) do they perform the tasks or processes necessary in the job? c) what is their measurable performance against the key metrics for the job?  An example for a sales executive would be; a) do they know the product? b) do they use the sales process? c) do they maintain the right pipeline and do they make their quota?

Getting it Done elements likely change from job to job.  The Doing it Right elements should not.  Doing it Right reflects how the person does their job and has three elements to it;

1. Team Player - Do they place the team's needs above their own?  Do they willingly share expertise with others?  Do they respect, seek and embrace input from others?
2. Integrity and Accountability - Do they accept blame as well as glory? Are they ethical, trusted by customers, partners and their team? Do their actions match their words?  Do they demonstrate through action that self-improvement is a priority?
3. Optimism and Enthusiasm - Are they a source of energy vs. a use of energy within the team? Do they see the truth, but not for worse than it is? Can they argue their position, but support the organizational decision?

Once these are defined we begin measuring and plotting people on this 2x2 grid.  Imagine combining an objective assessment of an employee's position in the grid with the cultural attribute of straight-talk discussed in the last post.  Through this activity we give our people a great gift; they know their standing in the organization and they have a roadmap to be a star.  This should be done with transparency, as Stephen Covey says, "Light is the greatest disinfectant in nature and business".

One last comment on a certain group, the ones who are Getting it Done but not Doing it Right.  People ask me, "Do we really have to get rid of those people?"  Yes and publicly.  Most of my leadership mistakes have been people related and almost always a result of compromising this tenant.  When we have the courage to lay out the Doing it Right principles to our team, their hearts will be stirred.  The majority of humanity really wants to do the right thing. But one compromise and we become seen as a hypocrite.   Nothing punctures passion more quickly and wounds it more severely than hypocrisy in leadership.