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| Chapter 10 |
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Chapter 10 – Plus People Leadership “Leadership is not the sole responsibility of one individual, but rather the potential for the entire organization.” I went to my daughter’s elementary school to pick her up one day. It was one of those typical parent days in which I had a hundred things on my mind and as luck would have it my child’s zipper was stuck, she couldn’t find her gloves and the only thing that she was worried about was the candy the teacher was handing out. I tried to explain to her that we needed to go in order to get to a doctor’s appointment on time, but my logical reasoning didn’t matter to my 7 year old. Most people can relate to this being an average event in a parent’s life. After getting all of her things together I was walking with her down the hallway and even in the exhaustion of a tense parent moment I noticed several posters on the walls. On those posters the teachers had taken the word RESPECT and tied it to several behavior concepts that the school expected from the children. The pillars were fundamentals of citizenship. A few of them were oriented to the teachers and the facility, but the simple yet strong message, that the acronym sent was unbelievable. I
asked my daughter, who was in 1st grade at the time, if she
knew what was on the poster. To my surprise she could recite the poster’s
message without looking at it. This was a great litmus test for me that
this poster had made a sincere impression on her. The message was
something easy to remember and also easy to live up to each day that she
went to school. I thought long and hard about what I had learned in my
20+ years of leadership, what I had read in the many leadership books, and
what I had heard in several leadership seminars from some of the top
presenters. I pulled the key points that were consistent among all of
them. The points really did align with the concept of respect. I
decided to develop something similar to what had worked in the elementary
school. I aligned the word RESPECT up as an acronym. Each of the letters
of RESPECT identify the leadership fundamentals that must be a part of
everyone’s daily life at work. The fundamentals of RESPECT become the
fuel that will drive your POWERSHIP™ Culturescape™ Environment Model to it’s
fullest potential.
If there is true passion to be demonstrated in the POWERSHIP® Culturescape™ Environment Model this is the chapter that it will come out. The topic of leadership is one that everyone is talking about and for great reasons. It is that important. The POWERSHIP® Culturescape™ Environment Model specifically put this at the end. It is at the end because leadership needs to be everywhere in the company and leadership needs to be something that you leave this book almost singing in the halls about. The strength of your Culturescape™ Environment relies on it. Leadership is all about RESPECT is easy to understand from the Receptionist to the CEO. Living the concept of RESPECT each and every day is the difficult part. So many times when we are under stress and pressure it is easy to forget about the easy concepts of RESPECT. We need to all understand that it is in those times is when RESPECT is most needed. No RESPECT! Let’s paint a picture of what happens to companies that don’t have Leadership as everyone’s job and also they don’t treat everyone as an executive. Basically they don’t live the leadership RESPECT formula. Picture Company X that has done a lot of things “by the book”. They have put a mission together, created a vision, identified strategy and even linked each step of the strategy to individuals performance review. I think we would all agree that this company initially looks like they have a true commitment to doing things correctly. The company even takes the time to communicate through company meetings. The only thing is that people are not performing as expected, people come in late and leave early, very few ideas are being brought forward, and many people are not participating on teams. So you may be saying, “What could possibly be the problem, the company has all the mechanics correct”. The piece to this story that is missing is that there is a HUGE lack of Trust from the RESPECT formula. There are corporate politics in which the CEO is the only one that anyone will take commands from and this CEO enjoys this. Time upon time is spent among the management team wondering what the next chess move is and how they can insulate themselves so that they are not the next pawn knocked out. The management team quickly realizes that the only time any initiative gets any respect regardless of what title the members of the management team carries is when the CEO stands behind you like a parent and gives it the blessing. What starts to happen in an organization like this? People don’t communicate their true thoughts. No one brings their ideas forward because they don’t want to take a chance they are the next person asked to leave. Great ideas are swept under the rug. It takes weeks to get things done that should take days. Everyone is nervous. Courage to speak up is stifled. The information that is coming out from corporate is being overlooked because the trust is not there that the truth is being told. Strategic goals aren’t being met. Energy is drained on company politics. This list could go on and on for a very long time. This is not an environment that is very healthy to withstand the challenges that our ever changing world and economy bring the business community. This is definitely a company that believes managing with fear is a good thing. The POWERSHIP™ Culturescape™ Environment Model believes this to be very limiting no matter how many “A” players you have in your organization. RESPECT, RESPECT, RESPECT! Picture Company A that has followed the POWERSHIP™ Culturescape™ Environment Model and really lives the RESPECT formula. They truly believe in the idea that Leadership is everyone’s job and also they make sure that everyone is treated as an executive. Company A has done a lot of things by the book. They have put a mission together, created a vision, identified strategy and even linked each step of the strategy to individuals performance review. This company also takes the time to communicate through company meetings just as the Company X did. The only difference is that each individual in this company is being treated as an intricate part of the entire company. Individuals are allowed to bring ideas forward and the ideas are actually celebrated regardless of their value. Conflict in idea sharing is thought of as being a healthy way of getting the best solution. There is an executive team but this group can be found making coffee, straightening when necessary and supporting with day to day tasks if that is what it takes to get the job done. It is truly a team environment where people are expected to come to work each day with the leadership RESPECT formula being lived out and they also see that everyone in the company is living up to the RESPECT formula. The level of enthusiasm for what an individual does for the company regardless of the individual’s level is seen. What happens in an environment like this? Respect for each other is flowing. Energy levels are high and can be used to make the impossible happen. Support is available around every corner. Patience is given to grow individuals into new roles. Ethics is not a question. Courage is beaming from each person to bring their best ideas forward. Trust is a given and there is no need for corporate politics. Excel, Excel, Excel is the only thing that can be said about what will happen in a company with a picture like this. Productivity and loyalty drive success. Is a company like this to good to be true. Absolutely Not! It can happen and when it does watch out, you are poised for results. An example of Leadership is everyone’s job! I was looking for a way to understand the role that each individual felt leadership played into their day to day job. So I held a leadership meeting titled “Important topics all leaders should know”. I made it at a time when I thought most people would be able to attend, it was an early breakfast meeting. I provided everyone with a number that they could conference in to if they couldn’t make it in person. I let them know a continental breakfast was going to be served. The invitation went out to everyone in the company. It was interesting to see who showed up. I had many members of the top management team and a number of the executive team there. I was interested in the mix of people so I casually asked different people in the company about why they didn’t come. A frequent answer was: “I didn’t know that I was actually invited”. They thought it was just for managers and above. I had to ask myself at that point a few questions;
· Why didn’t all of the employees think they were part of the EVERYONE was invited statement? · What made the employees assume that it was only for managers? · What unwritten structure was in our company that caused the employees to react this way? The fundamental belief that leadership is just the job of the Executive team is a barrier that needs to be brought down first. People have to understand that they can be an equal part of the solution. The employees have to believe that they are a part of the EVERYONE. The employees have to understand that they are a part of the next Leadership meeting. Leadership is all about RESPECT was implemented. It was made a part of everyone’s vocabulary in the company. It became the largest meeting that we had in attendance and the strength from leadership being everyone’s job grew. Always Remember… Lead with RESPECT and the People Engagement that you will create will allow you to; Execute the Impossible and Get Results you can take to the bank. POWERSHIP® Culturescape™ Environment Example: 1. Each Person from the Receptionist to the CEO are required to put together a personalized leadership RESPECT plaque (see example below). It must be displayed on their desk and it is also put on their computer screen so they see it each day. The employees that don’t have a desk will have either a wallet size version of it or a magnet version that can be displayed in their locker. 2. Poster size wall hangings of the Leadership RESPECT formula are to be displayed in key places within the American FUN facilities. The poster size wall hanging must be in locations that everyone will see it each day. 3. A leadership breakfast forum is created that has meetings on the 1st and 3rd Thursdays of the month. The meetings are for anyone to attend. The meetings will consist of topics that do not require consecutive attendance. The forum meetings are designed so that if you attend you will take something away each time.
Examples of respect plaques:
Respect for Teamwork Leadership. Energy for making the Impossible – Possible. Support for Total People Engagement. Patience for Cultural Growth. Ethics that won’t be Sacrificed. Courage to try New Things. Trust as a cornerstone.
Respect for each person. Energy for helping in any way possible. Support for the company and it’s growth. Patience to deal with constant change. Ethics that are right. Courage to bring ideas forward. Trust from everyone.
Work plan Segment: |
What others are saying about POWERSHIP: "This book is amazing! Katherine Topel actually shows you step by step how to streamline your business and get the best out of your people. This book is a winner!" - K Handin author of Effortless Leadership "POWERSHIP™ humanizes business and gives leadership new strategies to truly lead through everyone. If you really do what she outlines in this book you will have a company people will envy and admire." - Steven Wilson Victory, CEO, The Victory Company Inc. "Every organization needs this book if they want to stay ahead of the competition." - Gail Hand author of The Power of Laughter in Business "POWERSHIP™ provides a great road map for your business." - Jim Turner speaker and author of Delta Force Leadership "POWERSHIP™ captures Katherine Topel’s years of experience, passion for people engagement, drive to maximize productivity, and step by step approach for getting results. She connects the dots for what it takes to run a business in a way that allows everyone to participate in the leadership and success of the company." - Baron Stewart, Professor, University of Phoenix |
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