In late December and early January, I did a series of posts on what leaders need to do to help the people they lead to succeed. These tips were related to one of the points I make in my book 4 Secrets of High Performing Organizations: create a committed and engaged workforce.
Developing and communicating a clarity of purpose and direction is another of the 4 Secrets. Organizational values are helpful in communicating clarity of purpose. Values guide decision making. They help people figure out what to do in ambiguous situations.
In this post, I will concentrate on one of the things great leaders do to use values to communicate their organizations clarity of purpose.
Great leaders lead by rewarding the people they lead who live organizational values.
All great leaders know that the best way to ensure that the people they lead will continue to doing what you want them to do, is to reward the people you lead for the positive things they do. This is especially true when it comes to values.
Great leaders find that when they reward the people they lead for acting in a manner consistent with organizational values, these people will keep on acting that way. These leaders reward the people they lead who live the values frequently – with their leadership feedback – because they know that this is the key to creating a values driven workforce with the people they lead.
Great leaders know the and practice the two criteria of effective feedback – specificity and timeliness – with the people they lead. These leaders know that it’s not good enough to merely tell one of the people they lead that he or she “is doing a good job with the values.” Instead, these leaders will say something like: “I saw you go out of your way to handle that customer problem yesterday. Rather than passing her on to someone else, you got what she needed. That’s an excellent example of our Customer Service value in action.”
A simple leadership statement like this meets both feedback criteria. It’s specific because it focuses on what the person did, and it’s timely because it came soon after the event took place.
Great leaders avoid the “I’m not going to reward the people I lead for doing what they’re supposed to do” trap. These leaders know that the people they lead – all people for that matter – crave recognition, and they actively look for chances to recognize the people they lead. Recognition is one of the few things in this world that is highly valued by the person who receives it, and cost nothing to the person who gives it. Great leaders know this, and they actively search out opportunities to compliment, thank and reward the people they lead for doing the right thing.
Leadership values recognition is a simple process. Great leaders take a minute or two prior to meeting with one of the people they lead to determine exactly why they want to recognize this person. They ask themselves: “What did this person do?” “Why is it important and valuable?” Armed with answers to these questions, great leaders are ready to meet with one of the people they lead to conduct a recognition conversation.
Begin leadership values recognition discussions by saying that you want to compliment the person you lead for doing something that indicates he or she is living your organization’s values. Be specific about what he or she did, identify the value involved, and explain why this person’s contribution is important (how it impacts the work team you lead and the larger organization). Great leaders close with a “thank you”. Then they shut up and listen.
Some of the people you lead may be embarrassed by this type of conversation. Others may merely say “thank you” and go on their way. A few of the people you lead may seize the opportunity to engage you in a leadership conversation about something that’s on their mind. But here’s one thing great leaders know they can take to the bank. All of the people you lead will appreciate the fact that their leader noticed their efforts – and that you took some time to recognize them.
The common sense point here: great leaders recognize and reward behavior and actions that are in line with their organization's values -- because it is the best way to get the people they lead to continue that behavior and those actions.
As Al Lucia, co author of Walk the Talk and Get the Results You Want, says "always do right by those who DO RIGHT!
That’s it for today. Thanks for reading. Log on to my website www.BudBilanich.com for more common sense. Check out my other blog: www.CareerSuperStar.com for common sense advice on becoming the life and career star you are meant to be.
I’ll see you around the web, and at Alex’s Lemonade Stand.
Bud
PS: Speaking of Alex’s Lemonade Stand – my fundraising page is still open. Please go to www.FirstGiving.com/TheCommonSenseGuy to read Alex’s inspiring story and to donate if you can.
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