Being Precedes Doing

          Recently, I have talked with several people who left their place of work because they were expected to do something that they considered to be unethical or in violation of their values. In one or two cases, the individual felt they were being asked to do something that they knew was illegal. At some point, you have to decide if your core values line up with the values and culture of the organization. You might decide you can live with some minor discrepancies because higher priority values are still being met, but when core values are being violated the time comes when ways must part.

          When my sons were adolescents, whenever they would leave the house to go out with friends I would always say, “Remember who you are and whose you are.” They never asked what I meant by that. They knew that I was trusting them to remember their upbringing and to act according to the values my wife and I had tried to instill in them.

          There was only one caveat to that. I assumed that my values had become their values when, in fact, they were in the process of deciding just what their own values were. So they acted according to their own sense of right and wrong which did not always line up with my sense of right and wrong. Naturally, we had a few clashes when our values were not in alignment with each other’s.

          It would have been easy to say, “My way or the highway.” In fact, I did say a few times, “My roof, my rules,” but I valued the relationship, so we tried to come to terms. Frankly, some of my values needed to be put to the test. And then there were other values—core values—that were non-negotiable. Having teenagers forced me to prioritize some of my values and determine which were negotiable (and to what degree) and which were non-negotiable.

          Our values determine who we are and how we will act. So being really does precede doing. If my values and the values of the organization are in alignment, I should not have much trouble keeping the rules and acting in accordance with the organization’s policies and practices. If, however, the organization allows rules and regulations to be put into place that are not in alignment with its own stated values, then all sorts of problems can result… and will. 

          The official rules and regulations are not the only source of problems. Consider a manager who is allowed (or even encouraged) to continue to practice actions that violate the values and/or rules and regulations that support those values. The people under this manager’s authority and influence will be conflicted with questions:

- Why is this person being allowed to act this way?

- Could it be that the company’s real values are not what they say?

- What should I do about this?

          All too often, individuals and organizations fail to do the most loving thing of all, which is to take corrective action as soon as any behavior is detected which violates any known value. Dissatisfaction will grow until someone finally feels compelled to act—probably by leaving, being encouraged to leave, or flat out being fired. Either way the result will not be uplifting for anyone.

          So how do we turn this around to a positive note?

Hint to the Leader

- Take a hard, critical look at your organization’s core values and compare these to your current policies and regulations. Where do you see misalignment? What can you do to bring these back into alignment?

- What corrective action have you been putting off that should have been taken earlier? What values are being infringed upon by this behavior? What negative consequences are resulting because of your delay to act? What should you do about it? Do you have the will to do it?

Hint to the Follower

           

- Know yourself. Determine your own core values.

- If you are unhappy or dissatisfied with your work, could it possibly be because some personal value is at odds with the policies or practices of your organization? 

- If a manager is demanding something of you that you know to be contrary to the values and culture of the organization, what alternatives to leaving can you see?  With whom should you share your concerns before taking action?

                                                                                                                   

Previous articles on the subject of alignment:

Your Roadmap to More Effective Leadership (Jan 10, 2010);

The Stewardship Factor (May 2, 2010);

Stress and Job Dissatisfaction (April 4, 2010)

Why Vision, Purpose and Values are Still Important

© Copyright 2010, Dr. Larry N. Gay, http://mylead360.blogspot.com/ “Lessons on Leadership and Followership”

Don't Throw Training off the Train

When economic times get tough, one of the first things that goes out the window is the training budget. Such a knee-jerk reaction throws the organization into a downward spiral that is extremely difficult to reverse when the economy supposedly improves. Leaders often make the mistake of throwing training off the train, without realizing how important training really is. Training is not a benefit. It is not a luxury. Training is essential to any organization reaching its stated objectives, goals, mission and vision.  Throwing training off the train is like getting rid of the fuel makes the train run efficiently. 

Think about it. Your organization begins downsizing, laying people off, firing people who are not top performers, or enticing people to take early retirement. Then you put a hiring freeze on to curb personnel costs. The remaining employees are expected to pick up the slack and take on the responsibilities of the people who have left, but they are told there will be no budget for training to help them learn how to do their jobs better or improve productivity. The predicted results of all this?

·         Stress levels go up.

·         Productivity goes down.

·         Layoffs increase. 

·         Morale declines.

·         Some of the best performers start looking for other places of employment causing unwanted attrition.

·         The downward spiral goes on and on…

Looking for a Catchy Slogan? DON’T BOTHER!

As the organization begins to decline, some leaders mistakenly think the answer is in rallying the troops around catchy slogans, like: “Don’t work harder, work smarter.” Or “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” In response to that, the worker on the frontline is saying, “Yeah, right. The only problem is I now have twice the work with no more pay (or perhaps even a cut in pay) and there are still only so many hours in a day!”  As Deming pointed out in point number 10 of his 14 points, slogans do not address the causes of low quality and low productivity. They don’t motivate us to do better work. In fact, they can actually become the cause of serious relational problems in the workforce. Slogans have their place, but they cannot take the place of training. People need to be given tools that will help them increase productivity, relieve stress, and give them a sense of accomplishment, a feeling that what they are doing really makes a positive difference in the world. Slogans alone can never do that.

A few astute leaders know that training is not a luxury; it is a necessity—especially in difficult economic times. You might not be able to afford the cost of a large conference center with high-priced motivational speakers of great renown who come in to speak to large numbers of employees all gathered together in the same place, but that does not mean you cannot afford to continue to train your people. In this age of technology, it is possible to do more training than ever before at lower costs than ever before.

Webinars

Webinars, for example, allow people to sit in on a training session saving travel costs for the presenters and the participants. You can do a full two-day seminar with scheduled breaks for a minimal cost. Webinars can be presented one-on-one, to small groups or up to hundreds or thousands. And the sessions can be recorded for later viewing by other participants or reviewing.

Skype

Skype is a great way to give or receive coaching one-on-one or in a very small group by conference call.  And it’s free! If the coach is already someone employed by the same company, then you have no extra cost at all.

Tweet to Train

Or what about training on the fly? You can send out snippets of training in small, bite-sized nuggets throughout the day or week via Twitter, Facebook, or old-fashioned email.

Remember the Library

Hey, here’s a novel idea. Remember libraries? They still have books, videos, and a number of resources available for loan. Why not encourage your people to use their public library or libraries at local schools and universities. Some universities and graduate schools will mail books on loan to alumni.

Mentor/Coach

Assigning mentors or coaches can be another great way to carry out training. Assign every new personnel or new member of your organization to someone who will guide them in learning the ropes.

It really does not require you to think that far outside the box to discover ways to increase training at a time when “logic” might indicate cutting the training budget. Don’t throw training off the train. Instead, go against the flow and train more to increase productivity.

Hint to the Leader

·         Be sure someone has the responsibility to coordinate all training, making sure your people are on track to get the right tools to do the right things that will help your organization to reach the right objectives.

·         Think of three ways you can increase training opportunities for your team and others under your leadership.

·         Set some personal goals for self-improvement that will demonstrate a learning attitude to others who will follow.

·         Volunteer to mentor/coach new people joining your organization.

Hint to the Follower

·         Start a discussion group with coworkers to share best practices or ideas for improving productivity.

·         Think of three inexpensive or free training opportunities that you could suggest to your leader.

·         Volunteer to be a mentor/coach.

© Copyright 2010, Dr. Larry N. Gay  http://mylead360.blogspot.com/,   Mylead360@gmail.com