In the beginning….Setting Priorities (I)

A friend and colleague, Mike S, recently wrote to me, “I enjoy reading your thoughts on leadership and know you have dealt in the past with how a leader sets an example, acts and lives, but I was wondering if you have considered the topic I will call ‘how a leader starts’. This topic intrigues me because I am about to start something new and the timing is appropriate.”

I am starting a new role as well so this is a great moment to explore the subject of ‘In the beginning’. In a series of posts I will outline some of my thoughts as I start this new role. If you follow this blog you know I took a time out for Bill Taylor a couple of weeks ago. Before my eulogy for Bill, the previous blog was titled “Ask Questions”; I will pick back up here with “Setting Priorities”. This will be the first of several posts on this topic.

How many business books have you seen with a sub-title, “How to do everything all at once”? None; in fact usually we read statements like this from Peter Drucker, “Do first things first, and second things not at all.” I have long considered strategy to be more about what you decide NOT to do, rather than what you decide TO do. We all know we should focus, we all know we should be Setting Priorities, but how should we go about doing it?

In photography, a filter is a camera accessory that is inserted in the optical path. Filters allow added control for the photographer of the images being produced. Sometimes they are used to make only subtle changes to images; other times the image would simply not be possible without them. Likewise, we have a filter as we begin Setting Priorities. Like the photographer, our filter sits in our field of vision and controls our image of the future. Sometimes our filter makes subtle changes to the future and sometimes our view of the future simply would not exist without our filter. The filter we choose to put in our field of vision is critical. In general, I have seen two very different types of filters; serve or be served.

Serve or be served relates to the overall posture you or your organization will maintain. Serve or be served defines your frame of mind which affects all your thoughts and behavior. As I hire managers, the first thing I look at is their posture related to their people. Does this person arrive at work and think, “What will my people do for me today?” Or do they arrive at work and think, “What will I do for my people today?” The same can be said of an organization; does it exist to serve or be served? Long term the posture that succeeds is the “serve” posture.

Therefore, the first step in Setting Priorities is to place a “serve” filter in your field of vision. How is that done? Recently I got my management team together as part of “Setting Priorities” and asked them to identify our constituents; essentially I asked them, who do we serve? They identified four key constituents; employees, customers, partners and investors. Then we went through a process to identify how these constituents see us today and how they will see us in the future if we do a great job of serving them. Here is the output of that session:

• For employees we want them to have a stock that is valuable, we want them to attain their bonus targets and feel engaged and part of the success of the sales organization.
• For customers we want them to say we understand and transform their business, they have a great buying experience, we provide great solutions to their challenges and they are enthusiastic about being references.
• For partners we want them to grow their business, be self-sufficient in driving sales and build successful marketing automation practices.
• For investors we want them to say we are accurate in our forecasts, we perform consistently, we are growing faster than the market and we are the clear market leader.

We now have our filter in place. Our view of the future is seen through that filter. Everything we do next in “Setting Priorities” will be shaped by a future state thought process surrounding those we serve.

“No wind favors him who has no destined port.” - Michel de Montaigne French Philosopher and Writer, 1533-1592

In the Beginning…Ask Questions

A friend and colleague, Mike S, recently wrote to me, “I enjoy reading your thoughts on leadership and know you have dealt in the past with how a leader sets an example, acts and lives, but I was wondering if you have considered the topic I will call ‘how a leader starts’. This topic intrigues me because I am about to start something new and the timing is appropriate.”

I am starting a new role as well so this is a great moment to explore the subject of ‘In the Beginning’. In a series of posts I will outline some of my thoughts as I start this new role. The last blog was about “listen” this one is about “ask questions”.

Before you can listen, you sometimes have to ask questions. There are all sorts of techniques to asking questions:

• Open and closed ended questions
• Using a funnel
• Probing questions
• Leading the witness
• Rhetorical questions

While these are useful, they are merely the manner in which you try to elicit input from an individual or group. No matter what technique you use, your posture becomes the most important attribute when you “ask questions”

I want to be clear about the use of the term posture. I do not mean the position of your limbs or the carriage of your body as a whole. In this context I am talking about the definition whereby posture is a mental or spiritual attitude. Your internal attitude as you ask question, no matter what technique you use, will have profound impact on the way the organization operates.

It is human nature to be fault finders. In our natural state we run around, seek out imperfections and crush them. Think about almost every strategy or planning meeting you have been in. It usually has this question somewhere in it, “All right folks, let’s figure out what is broken and let’s go fix it!” I am at the front of the parade, completely guilty of this approach. Of course, this is sometimes necessary in every business or endeavor, so I am not advocating that we never look at what is going wrong and put plans in place to recover, fix, turn around or eliminate the brokenness of an organization.

That said, we have to be careful that we do not fall in a trap where all of our questioning comes from a posture of, “what’s wrong?” Why not? There is an important principal at work here; human systems grow in the direction of what they persistently ask questions about. If I continue to ask questions from a “what’s wrong” posture, the organization will focus its time, energy and ultimately its attitude around broken things. It will grow towards what is wrong. We need to invert this outcome, instead of negation, criticism, and spiraling diagnosis, we must send our organization in the direction of discovery, dream, and design.

How do we do this? How can we send our organization in the direction of what works? There is a fairly significant body of work around the field of Appreciative Inquiry. Appreciative Inquiry joins two powerful words.

Ap-pre’ci-ate, v. valuing; the act of recognizing the best in people or the world around us; affirming past and present strengths, successes, and potentials; to perceive those things that give life (health, vitality, excellence) to living systems

In-quire’, v., 1. the act of exploration and discovery. 2. To ask questions; to be open to seeing new potentials and possibilities.

How does appreciative inquiry manifest itself as you ‘ask questions’? Think of these two questions; “We are trying to grow this business, what is wrong? What is broken? Why can we not seem to grow the business?” Or; “We are trying to grow this business; can you tell me some examples of where growth has worked? How do we replicate those examples?”

You can picture the difference in my posture as I ask those two questions. You can almost sense the difference in the room during these two very different conversations. This mode of questioning repeated time and again at all levels throughout the organization can have a profound impact on the attitude, energy, initiative and success within a company. In fact, David L. Cooperrider and Diana Whitney assert in some of their writing on Appreciative Inquiry, “The single most prolific thing a group can do if its aims are to liberate the human spirit and consciously construct a better future is to make positive change the common and explicit property of all.”

In the beginning…ask questions. But check your posture. Beyond your questioning techniques, what is the core of what you are trying to find out? Are you trying to discover all that is broken or examples of where success is occurring?

Winston Churchill said, “A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” We have to ‘ask questions’ in such a manner that we give our folks the chance to see the opportunity in the difficulty.

Joshua's lessons on leadership - Joshua's Last Lesson

For those of you that follow this blog, I apologize for the length of time between posts. I generally update this blog every week or so and it has been four weeks since my last update. The last month has been a blur of travel that ended up with me accepting a role at a new company. I now plan to get back on my regular blog schedule. As always, I’d love any input on topics.

If you have been following the blog you know that I’ve been writing about leadership lessons from Joshua ben Nun, of the tribe of Ephraim, which would become known as the most militaristic of the tribes of Israel through Joshua's campaigns. If this is the first post in the series you have read, please do a quick review of the March 30, 2009 blog titled “Joshua's lessons on leadership - Intro”; that post highlights why I am looking into Joshua’s life.

In the last entry, Joshua reminded us that “Leaders Protect the Truth”. In this post, I close out my thoughts on Joshua with “Joshua’s Last Lesson”.

The stage for this last lesson is Joshua’s farewell address. Joshua lead the Jewish people for 28 years and brought an area of land bounded by the Egyptian empire to the south and the Mesopotamia to the north under one rule through 14 years of conquest and settlement. This was no easy task since no one power ruled this section of land; it was inhabited by seven Canaanite tribes in 31 fortified city-states scattered all over the map, each ruled by its own "king." Here is what we know, "when the country was at rest from all their enemies around them, Joshua, by then old and well advanced in years, summoned all Israel, their elders, leaders, judges and officials". Joshua summoned them for his farewell speech. I imagine that people sat on the edge of their seat to listen. They were all there to hear the last words of the man who lead them to their permanent home.

Have you ever noticed we pay more attention to someone’s farewell speech than most anything else they say? I had a coach who once told me, “Alex, it is not about how you enter a role that matters; it is about how you leave it”. Think about some of the famous farewell comments through history:

• Napoleon – “Do not regret my fate; if I have consented to survive, it is to serve your glory”
• Edward VIII – “I have found it impossible to carry the heavy burden of responsibility without the help and support of the woman I love”
• Lou Gehrig – “I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth”
• LBJ – “I shall not seek, and I will not accept, the nomination of my party for another term as President”
• Douglas MacArthur - “I came through, and I shall return”
• George Washington – “Observe good faith and justice towards all nations. Cultivate peace and harmony with all”

When it comes time to give a farewell address people become thoughtful and selective with their words. Whether passing on an idea, encouragement, closure, a lesson or a directive, a farewell message speaks loudly about the person’s deepest character and passion.

So what did Joshua tell the people that were gathered to listen to his final lesson? What did they hear as they leaned into his farewell address? "Be very strong; be careful to obey all that is written…without turning aside to the right or to the left”

The last lesson of Joshua directs us toward strength, obedience and determination. Strength observed as moral power, firmness, or courage. Obedience defined as subjection to rightful restraint or control. Determination described as the quality of being resolute; firmness of purpose.

At the end of his life, in his farewell address, Joshua gives us one last great lesson. When we lead, it is not our words that matter. It is our actions that should demonstrate strength, obedience and determination.

David's lessons on leadership - Take a Stand

In a series of posts I reflect upon what we can learn about leadership from David, King of Israel.  If this is the first post in the series you have read, please do a quick review of the January 2, 2009 blog titled  “David’s lessons on leadership – Intro”; that post outlines why I am looking into David’s life.

The previous blog dealt with knowing we all have flaws and being aware our flaws can lead us to join the ranks of “Tragic Heroes”.  This post deals with the topic of “Take a Stand”

There was a long period in David’s life when he was on the run from Saul.  Recall that Saul was David’s mentor and king, he became jealous of David and went through a bi-polar experience some days loving David and some days wanting to kill him.  It was in one of these ‘kill him’ moments we see David stand tall among his men and “Take a Stand”

Around 1000 B.C., Saul was chasing David through the Desert of Maon when he broke off his pursuit of David because the Philistines were raiding his land.  As Saul turned, David went up and “dwelt in the strongholds at En Gedi”, which is the largest oasis along the western shore of the Dead Sea. 

Saul finished his battle with the Philistines and took 3,000 men back to En Gedi to capture David.  Saul basically calls in the cavalry; he now outnumbers David 5:1.  Saul ends up having to relieve himself in a cave that turns out to be the very same cave that David and his men are hiding in.  David’s men encourage him, telling him, "This is your moment, go kill Saul, it is a sign from above”.  Six hundred frightened men, badly outnumbered convince their leader that in this moment he can deliver them from their weary travails.

David sneaks up to kill Saul and at the last moment spares him.  David merely cuts a piece of Saul’s robe (which he later shows Saul to prove that he does not want to kill him).  David comes back to his men and rebukes them.  He does not allow them to attack Saul.  He tells them, “Saul is my king and I made an oath not to lift my hand against him”.  David’s men see him “Take a Stand”

I look at this story and think “What are David’s men saying about him?”  Were they saying, “Look how great and glorious our leader is because he kept an oath and see how gracious he is toward Saul”?  Or were they saying, “What the heck has gone wrong with David?  We are on the run, tired, hungry, living in a rock, he has every chance to deliver us and yet he does not!”

We never know their reaction.  As you study this story you see the reaction of David’s men upon finding Saul, yet there is nothing about their reaction to David letting Saul go.  Why is there no record of their reaction in that moment?  Here I think is the lesson – it did not matter…

There will be moments in which you are publicly presented a situation where you have to either “Take a Stand” or please the people you lead.   Until people see you “Take a Stand” they will never know your values or be in a position to choose to accept your values or move on.

So here is a moment for David’s men; they see the choice that David made.  They know the sacrifice of this choice since David is on the run with them.  They see David have the opportunity to end it all yet choose to keep an oath and respect authority.  David’s men now know his values and can choose to follow him and his belief system or move on.

We do our people a favor when we “Take a Stand”; we let them know our value systems and ourselves.  We are no longer anonymous.  There is an old Chinese proverb - “A wise man makes his own decisions, an ignorant man follows public opinion”

Show your values, don’t just talk about them; “Take a Stand”

David's lessons on leadership - Last Words of David

In a series of posts, I am going to reflect upon what we can learn about leadership from David, King of Israel.  If this is the first post in the series you have read, please do a quick review of the post titled  “David’s lessons on leadership – Intro”; that post highlights why I am looking into David’s life.

Here is a paraphrase from 2 Samuel 23; These are the last words of David, “the Rock of Israel said to me: 'When one rules over men in righteousness, when he rules in the fear of God, he is like the light of morning at sunrise on a cloudless morning, like the brightness after rain that brings the grass from the earth.'"

I want to hear from people who have been through the pressure of leadership.  I want to learn what has worked and not worked for them.  I especially want to listen when they say, “It has been a long life, and here is what I discovered”.  So when a guy like King David says, “here are my last words” my ears perk up.  David is reflecting toward the end of his life and he gives us two simple but thoughtful maxims to lead by; rule with righteousness and rule with the fear of God.

Rule with righteousness - Righteousness is a condition that has been mangled by association with self-righteousness, and both are thrown out after many correctly discredit self-righteousness. As a result people do not know what righteousness is.  Being self-righteous is being confident of one's own righteousness, especially when smugly moralistic and intolerant of the opinions and behavior of others.  Being righteous is acting in an upright, moral way. 

So we have a challenge; the more we become aware of righteousness and attempt to act in a righteous manner, the greater the odds are that we become self-righteous.  How do we follow David’s advice and cut through this Gordian Knot?  We have to create a set of standards by which we will act and constantly compare ourselves to that standard without worrying about credit or glory.  For example David gave us some of his standards:

• Walk blamelessly
• Speak the truth from your heart
• Have no slander on your tongue
• Do no wrong to your neighbor
• Cast no slur on your fellow man
•  Despise a vile man
• Keep your oath
• Lend money without usury
• Do not take a bribe

Those may not be the right standards for the group you lead, but you must establish something.  For those of you that read the “Boundaries” section of my Passion blog you know I argue for Getting it Done and Doing it Right, where Doing it Right includes these standards:

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?

A young man who worked for me several years ago called me the other day and we talked about his transition to management.  He was reflecting upon the things he had learned about managing his sales team.  There was a lot of value in what he had learned although it was still at the functional level; the tasks necessary to get the job done.  I challenged him with this question, “What is your brand?”  What do people know is from you?  Basically what are your standards that you establish and model?  Establishing those standards and publicly living up to them without pride or boasting is how we can rule with righteousness. 

Rule with the Fear of God – This one is a bit more complicated for leadership in a secular environment.  How can we apply David’s advice to a multi-faith situation?  What value can it have for a leader who is not religious?  First let’s define what “Fear of God” is.  I read this from a guy named Graham Barker who lives in Perth, Australia, “Over the years I have learned to deeply respect God, both for who He is and what He has done. I have a healthy reverence for His standards, and His right to judge each of us. I admire His attributes, such as power, patience, love, mercy, and the way He respects our free will.  All of this sums up what it means for me to fear God; the acute awareness of the presence of God's power that produces in me a sense of awe and calls forth from me honor, respect and reverence.”  

Too often the word 'fear' is paralyzing for many people.  There are two very different definitions of the word and it is important to apply the right one.  The first definition is a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger; the second is a reverential awe. Fear of God is much more about a reverential awe than a distressing emotion; and reverence at its' core is a feeling of profound respect for someone or something.

Here is how I interpret Graham's comments.  There is someone or something out there bigger than me, that entity is aware of my actions, has a set of standards for me, but is also forgiving and understanding.  Therefore, I am compelled to respect their authority and conduct myself accordingly with a deep sense of accountability.  All of us, regardless of our personal belief systems can apply this principle to mean that our power and influence as a leader should never be absolute.  We need to establish some type of authority over ourselves.  There must be someone or some group that we are connected to who we trust, who knows us, will be truthful to us and we respect and honor. Leadership cannot exist in a vacuum; it is irresponsible to put ourselves in that situation.  Consider these wise words from Abraham Lincoln, “Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power”

'When one rules over men in righteousness, when he rules in the fear of God, he is like the light of morning at sunrise’.  I might summarize David final words to say; “When you lead others, do the right thing and act knowing someone else bigger, stronger and wiser than you is watching”.  If we could just do these two things, our character would encourage our teams; and they would get would get the benefit of David's last words.

Passion Part VI - Sacrifice

This is the last in a series of posts 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.  Throughout the last few weeks, I argued that leaders must focus on the following elements to create and sustain passion; vision, culture, principles, and style.  I received great feedback on these topics and invariably someone says, "this is an interesting point Alex, but how do you actually get something like this done?"  To answer that question, I must conclude the discussion of passion with the topic of sacrifice.  

We can make speeches, write emails, pound our fists on a podium and exhort those around us, but nothing changes unless leaders make believable observable sacrifices.  Sacrifice is a difficult word, for many it has a negative, punishing overtone.  Yet sacrifice merely means giving up something valuable or important for somebody or something else considered to be of more value or importance.  Sacrifice, therefore, is making a choice.  People watch leaders make choices and knowingly or unknowingly choose what the leader has chosen.  Fair?  Maybe not, but it is the reality of the relationship between the leader and their team.  I quoted Robert E. Lee in the post about culture, and I have to repeat him here, "You must be careful how you walk, and where you go, for there are those following you who will set their feet where yours are set"

Choice by itself will not do the deed; the choice must be believable and observable.  Why believable?  A choice that is believable cannot be discounted; the human brain must pay attention to it. Observable?  The choices must be planned out and visible.  We have all heard it said, "Don't just talk the talk, but walk the talk".  Right; but we must also talk the walk.  People have to see the choices occur.  Some things should not be done in the dark.

There are four believable observable sacrifices a leader can make.  We must consciously understand these sacrifices and strategically plan and use them to create and sustain passion.  As you consider the vision you have, the culture you want, the boundaries you set and the style you preach, you must make these sacrifices to imprint your will on the team.

1. Sacrifice time – How we use our time shows what we value.  My son came home from school once and told me, "Dad - today we learned how to spell love; T-I-M-E".  Go back through your calendar for the last six months and look at the use of your time.  Is your time connected to your vision?  Does it support the culture and boundaries you want in the organization?  Let's say you want to be customer focused.  Are you using your time to understand the customer?  Have you cancelled an important internal meeting to be with a customer?  What believable, observable choices do you make with your time?
2. Sacrifice money - What choices do you make with the funds inside your organization? Strategy without resource allocation is just a wish.  Let's say you have preached about leadership development.  Have you allocated resources to teach and engage the front line leadership in the organization? Don’t tell me where your priorities are. Show me where you spend your money and I’ll tell you what they are. - James W. Frick
3. Sacrifice ego – The first two are easy to understand, the last two require a bit more effort.  Sacrifice ego?  What does that mean?  Being right can get in the way of what you want to get done with your team. What are you willing to be wrong for?   Sacrificing your ego and going through the pain of "being wrong" in front of your team is humbling and tough.  Publicly acknowledging when you personally break one of the values of the organization is an important way we sacrifice our ego.  If I say, "Customers are our business" and then damage a customer relationship for financial results, will I stand in front of the team and say, "I am sorry I made a choice against our culture"
4. Sacrifice values - In every journey there are moments of truth.  These are moments where you choose between the way it was and the way it will be.  These are moments where you must publicly slay a previous value.  In one post, I talked about boundaries.  Let's say you have implemented a Getting it Done and Doing it Right set of boundaries and Doing it Right includes the value of teamwork.  What if your #1 producing employee is selfish and contributes nothing else to the team?  Will you remove that employee and will your team know why you removed the person from your team?

Many of you have seen the movie, "Saving Private Ryan".  In that movie there is scene with all these sacrifices on display.  General Marshall is approached by two War Department colonels and informed of the deaths of the Ryan brothers, and of the lone surviving brother in the 101st Airborne Division. Marshall reads a letter that had been sent to Lydia Bixby by President Lincoln concerning the loss of her sons during war, and orders that Private Ryan be found and returned home.   Time? The chief of staff of the Army makes time within days of the largest military operation in the history to discuss one man.  Money? Taking a decision to send a group of men after one man is a reallocation of resources.  Ego? Marshall pulls out a letter and it is obvious that he has memorized this letter by Lincoln consoling a mother of several sons who have died and used this letter frequently to remind himself of who he really is and the importance of all soldiers to their mother.  Previous value? Marshall overrides his staff that recommends that it is an unwise use of resources given everything else they are working on. We are all left with a deep sense of who Marshall is and what he believes.

One more example from history rather than film.  Regardless of your own personal belief system, today most scholars estimate there are a little more than 2 billion people in the world that call themselves Christian.  This is the largest religious group making up over 32% of the world's population.  The religion originated with one man 2000 years ago, a man who is acknowledged by other major religions including Islam who sees him as a prophet and Hindus who regard his teaching as solid moral, ethical and social commentary.  If the measure of leadership is related to sustained influence over people across time, then this one man had a level of influence above most others we can study.  And in the end, it was his believable, observable sacrifices that inspired and continue to inspire.

Passion Part III - Culture

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.  A previous post discussed vision, this post is focused on culture.

Culture eats strategy for breakfast.  Makes you laugh at first until you realize it is true.  An organization with strategy, but a culture that will not allow the strategy to happen, is cursed from the outset.  The dictionary defines culture as the predominating attitudes and behavior that characterize the functioning of a group or organization.  A little stilted for me.  Let's try a mental picture; think of a 2x2 table with internal vs. external on the horizontal axis and individual vs. group on the vertical axis.  As an individual, I am judged by my behavior.  That is the external box.  However, my behavior is created by my beliefs.  That is the internal box.  For the group the word that goes in the external box is culture, the words that go in the internal box are shared values.  Culture is the collective shared values of the people in the organization. 

So what shared values create passion?  Some of the values depend upon the strategy of the organization.  The organization might want to be innovative.  If the organization is bureaucratic and punishes risk, innovation is not likely.  The organization might want to deliver the highest quality, but if the culture consists of rapid decision making without data then the strategy of high quality will suffer.  While some of the culture will depend upon the strategy, there are three values that must be shared for passion to exist in an organization:

1. Merit vs. entitlement
2. Straight talk vs. passive aggressiveness
3. Accountable vs. paternalism

Merit vs. entitlement - There are places you walk into where entitlement reigns.  People sashay around with the basic attitude, "because I have this badge - someone owes me something".  It is a be-served vs. a serve mentality.  Merit based cultures share a value of, "I first owe my customer, my colleagues and my company something, once delivered, I can expect something for me".  The best talent wants to be in a merit environment because they know they can win and be proud of their work.

Straight talk vs. passive aggressiveness - Nothing wounds passion more than passive-aggressiveness.  This is the type of behavior where you might say to me, "Alex, you are doing such a wonderful job, your work is great and you are a fantastic contributor to the organization".  Then you walk into the next office and say, "Alex is such a waste of oxygen, I have no idea why he is here".  Straight talk is difficult.  Straight talk means looking someone in the face and telling them the truth about their capability, contribution, skills or style.  And then coaching them.  Humans tend to avoid this conversation, or as my 12-year old Aristotle-like son Will says, "Dad, grown-ups tell you want you want to hear, kids tell you the truth".  One way to get into a rhythm of straight talk is to imbed the words 'judge' vs. 'observe' into your skull.  Avoid judging and focus on observing.  To judge is to form an opinion or estimate; to observe to see, watch, perceive, or notice, especially so as to learn something.  I was taught this rhythm by a good friend of mine Damon Beyer who is a partner at Katzenbach Partners.  Damon is one of the real leaders in cultural change management and drilled into my head;  Observation, Effect, Recommendation.  Observation is  fact with detail, Effect is the real impact on people or situations and Recommendation is a concrete statement to retain or change that which was observed.  When this pattern is followed, judgment rarely occurs. Without judgment straight talk can thrive.

Accountable vs. paternalism - Organizations that share a value of paternalism tend to follow a similar pattern.  If things are going well, everyone thinks they are individually doing a great job.  If the organization is struggling, people stand around the water cooler and talk about how much they need or want 'daddy' to fix it.  The real danger with paternalism is that the origin lies with the leadership.  The leaders assume they are smarter and can make better decisions than anyone else in the organization.  They get involved in details at all levels and if someone is deciding every last detail of how you get your job done, you stop thinking for yourself.  Given the type of world we are all competing in, we need a lot of individual initiative.  People with courage, intelligence, competence and self-confidence bloom in an organization with accountability and decision making at the right levels.

Culture eats strategy for breakfast.  We must have the right shared values in place for passion to exist.  The basic foundation includes merit, straight talk and accountability.  If these don't exist and you have been the leader of your organization for more than six months than the first place to look is in the mirror.  Because whatever the leader is interested in, the people become fascinated by...or as Robert E. Lee once wrote, "You must be careful how you walk, and where you go, for there are those following you who will set their feet where yours are set"

In the next three posts, I will write about principles, style and sacrifice - three elements that the leader can use bring a merit-based, straight talk accountable culture into their organization.