Leadership Behaviors that Support Shared Values

Modeling the way is how to set the example through behavior that supports and is consistent with shared values. Setting the example or modeling the way is all about leaders doing what they say will do. Leaders must therefore execute the following principles that underlie the strategies in Commitment #7: "Set the Example by Behaving in Ways That are Consistent with Shared Values" (Kouzes & Posner, 1995, p. 232):

1. Clarify personal values and beliefs and those of others;
2. Unify constituents around shared values;
3. Pay attention constantly to how self and others living the values. There is a simple and time-honored religious principle that applies to this discussion: “We’d rather see a sermon than hear one, any day.”
   

Clearly, a leader must provide an example that matches what they are promoting. Kouzes and Posner (1995) provide the following guidance on aligning the messenger with the message:

• A. "Take a look in the mirror" (p. 232) – spend some time reflecting on who you are and what your values are in order to become more self-aware.
• B. "Write your leadership credo" (p. 233) – translate your personal values into a personal leadership credo that describes how you wish your team to proceed in your extended absence.
• C. "Write a personal tribute and a tribute to your organization" (p. 234) – draft an ideal, lofty vision of yourself and then of your organization.
• D. "Open a dialogues about personal and shared values" (p. 235) – ask your team and other important players in your organization to craft credo paragraphs and then share them, melding them into one common understanding. Go first.
• E. "Audit your actions" (p. 236) – contrast what you preach with what you do on a daily basis.
• F. "Trade places" (p. 237) – spend some time doing other jobs in the organization, especially those of your constituents, to gain a perspective of how others view your position and how you might view their positions.
• G. "Be dramatic" (p. 238) – dramatizing events is a great way of driving home points and making them memorable.
• H. "Tell stories about teachable moments" (p. 239) – look for teachable moments and then tell them as parables to instruct various constituencies; these stories will become part of the organization’s oral history.
  

Reference

Kouzes, J.M., & Posner, B.Z. (1995). The leadership challenge (2nd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Values in Highly Successful Organizations

Kouzes and Posner (1995) adapt three central themes from management professors David Caldwell and Charles ORielly with respect to the values that are practiced in highly successful organizations: "(1) High performance standards; (2) A caring attitude toward people; (3) A sense of uniqueness and pride" (p. 216).

It is fascinating to note that while each of the organizations studied had different business strategies, they had important core values in common. The highly successful organizations exhibited many other values but three central values that were present stressed a commitment to excellence, a concern for how others were being treated, and a sense of pride in the organization. These values must be ever present and easily measurable when interacting with employees. Employees must allow the values to influence how they work. High performance, a caring attitude, and pride in the organization must be endorsed and supported throughout the organization.

Reference

Kouzes, J.M., & Posner, B.Z. (1995). The leadership challenge (2nd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Dysfunctional Management Teams: Focus on Programmed Decisions

Programmed decisions are routine, recurring decisions about well understood situations where a precise set of procedures and policies have been developed to deal with their occurrence (Gibson, Ivancevich, & Donnelly, 1994). For example, shipping and installing products at a customer’s site can be handled by a programmed decision. Nonprogrammed decisions are nonroutine, possibly unique and complex, decisions where the situations do not occur frequently enough for procedures and policies to have been developed. For example, defining the market requirements and developing a new product line cannot be handled by a programmed decision making process. Procedures for making programmed decisions can be developed for almost any recurring business issue and the organization can be trained to cope with their occurrence. Methodologies exist for identifying unique problems and developing complex solutions, but there is nothing routine about the process.

There are a number of implications to how an organization handles programmed and nonprogrammed decisions, if programmed decisions can be thought of as often being tactical and nonprogrammed decisions as strategic. The executive team should be delegating decisions that can be programmed to their direct reports and their respective organizations. If the executive team is spending more time on programmed decisions than on nonprogrammed decisions, this could be indicative of a dysfunctional management team. By its very nature, the executive team should be spending more time on strategic issues and planning than on handling tactical recurring issues.

Reference

Gibson, J.L., Ivancevich, J.M., & Donnelly, J.H., Jr. (1994). Organizations: Behavior, structure, processes (8th ed.). Boston, MA: Irwin.