Any organization has the following components: Purpose, System Structure/Culture, Leadership Behaviors, Followership Behaviors, Training, Empowerment, Responsibility, Accountability, Compensation/Commission Structures, Job Satisfaction and Performance Reviews.
Whether or not these various components are effective make the company a great place to contribute your time and talents or a place you would rather not be. During the course, we explored many different aspects of each component. The good, the bad and the atrocious were examined. We read and talked about case studies at real companies that face challenges as they struggle with changing business environments. We read and commented on blogs from advisors on real life leadership skills and behaviors. These advisors showcased how a manager can build up or tear down organizations. This paper addresses what the ideal organization would look like in terms of the 11 aspects stated above.
Purpose—Why Are We Here?
The Purpose of the company is what brings people together to create and build the business. The Purpose tells people why the company exists. It’s the foundation of the working relationships where there are influential relationships between leaders and followers who aim to make real changes to execute the purpose of the company. This Purpose is inspirational and clearly defined. I’ll help clarify what Purpose is by defining what it is not.
Many companies confuse Purpose with Vision, Mission and/or Values. Vision gives people a sense of where the company is heading. “We will be the industry leader by 2020” is an example of Vision. Vision is generally far off, designed during an executive retreat and while it gives the company direction, it is not the organization’s reason for existence.
A Mission Statement could be related to Purpose, however, it is generally filled with rhetoric, vague and meaningless words. A Mission Statement is rarely inspirational. “The mission of VideoPoker.com is to provide our members with information that will optimize their video poker playing fun and provide the best video poker games, just like the ones you see in the casino.” (www.videopoker.com/mission).
Expected behaviors are expressed in the Values Statement. Values guide people how others should be treated throughout the company and during interactions with customers and/or suppliers. Respect, honor, dignity, integrity, high standards of ethics, law-abiding, open communication, etc., are all behavior-driven words found within Values Statements. While useful and, frankly baffling that this type of behavior needs to be explicitly defined to adults, Values Statements help support Purpose, but is not the company Purpose.
The most inspirational and moving Purpose I have had the privilege of supporting comes from Landmark Education. “Landmark Education is a global educational enterprise committed to the fundamental principle that people have the possibility of success, fulfillment, and greatness.” (www.landmarkeducation.com/about_landmark_company_overview.jsp emphasis added.)
Landmark Education’s Purpose is clear, simple and inspirational. People, paid staff and thousands of volunteers from all around the globe, get behind this Purpose as they are also committed to the same thing. Everything falls underneath Purpose. The Ideal Organization will have a similar Purpose.
System Structure/Company Culture—The Context
Company leadership creates, determines and enforces the System Structure. This System Structure defines how the Purpose will be executed. The System Structure encompasses the Mission Statement, Values and the Vision along with the rest of the components mentioned at the beginning. The System Structure gives the boundaries of behaviors—good or bad, effective or ineffective—for all people within the organization. For small or newer companies, this System can be more malleable than at larger, more established firms.
Within the System Structure, the Company Culture is born. The unwritten expectations and the peer pressure influences arise and create the Company Culture. The System Structure can be thought of as the building of the company: the walls, the floors, the ceiling, the cubes, etc., whereas the Company Culture is the air contained within that building. It can be poisonous or it can be life-giving depending upon which behaviors are encouraged. And it all starts with Leadership Behaviors.
Leadership Behaviors
It is within this realm that the Purpose, the System Structure and the Company Culture is either built or torn down. Leadership Behaviors create the Company Culture within the System Structure. Poor behaviors lead to a poisonous culture whereas excellent behaviors bring inspiration along with inter-personal connections and a well run company.
Leadership Behaviors permeate the entire company—from the front lobby to the executive suite—leadership can be found at every level, regardless of title, position, seniority and experience.
The Ideal Organization would foster socialized power where resources are shared freely, information is exchanged without fear of repercussion, and the whole truth is spoken and supported. Hidden agendas, self-serving politics and sabotage of other staff are not only discouraged but outwardly punished. Bullies are fired immediately.
As politics are unavoidable in any organization, the Ideal Organization would foster Organizational Politics to use relationships to influence and foster growth, innovation, cooperation and effective communication. This can be fostered by creating a System and Culture by ensuring commitment, building information-intensive environments, playing coach and facilitator all focused on human interaction and learning. (Strategies of Effective New Product Team Leaders, pg 37, Table 1.) The Ideal Organization teaches everyone the importance of contribution to the Purpose and how each person can make a difference.
The most vital Leadership Behavior is Integrity. As a leader, regardless of position or title, integrity is crucial to any successful, meaningful relationship worth engaging. Integrity is more than just doing what you say you will do when you say you will do it. It also entails communicating not being able to accomplish the task when originally stated. An essential piece that many people do not realize as part of having integrity is acknowledging and taking responsibility for mistakes, errors in communication, missed deadlines, etc. When this acknowledgement occurs, integrity is put back in place and the relationship can move forward. Not acknowledging or being responsible is like frosting on a mud cake. As noted in my previous writings, without integrity, there is no workability within a relationship. If there is no workability, then there is no relationship. The foundation of any relationship is integrity. A leader with solid integrity can take a group of people to grand achievements.
In one of our readings, the author describes Servant Leadership by the leader asking three simple questions: “What projects are you working on? What obstacles are you encountering? What resources can I provide?” It’s the last question that turns this into a servant-type role. The leader is not looking to be the hero or to be the sole provider of everything. On the contrary, the Servant Leader is willing to impart as much as possible such as information, resources, controls, power and credit. A similar approach is asking, “What can I do for you?”
Other key Leadership Behaviors include management through active participation, a willingness to change anything and everything, keeps things in perspective in terms of Purpose, doing real work and creates development opportunities not only for the staff but for the company as well. Asking questions and being open to all answers, feedback and complaints. Without new information, the organization can become incestuous. It takes courage to question and sometimes even more courage to provide the truth over being silent.
Leaders need Followers just as much as Followers need Leaders. However, when a leader attacks a follower, that leader will soon find there is no one around to lead.
Followership Behaviors
But the entire responsibility in the Ideal Organization does not rest completely on the leadership. Followers have to possess the courage to speak up when Leadership steers away from the Purpose. This facet alone is what sets a Partner/Follower apart from a “Yes” Man. Having the courage to speak up when it matters, in the face of opposition, brings the Purpose back into focus at a critical time.
In the Ideal Organization, Followers complain, brainstorm and dig into the issue in order to solve obstacles in the way of the Purpose. These steps are essential to learning and growing within the Ideal Organization (Pfeffer & Sutton). This critical thinking can be accomplished with respect, honor and a sharing of responsibility.
In additional, behaviors of the Follower can be characterized as being highly supportive as the Follower implements or partners with the Leaders. In the Ideal Organization, Followers are effective in that they are responsible for themselves and for their work, can work efficiently without close supervision, and actively support Leadership Behaviors to create a System and Company Culture that is life-giving.
Training & Development—Teach Me
High quality Leadership Behaviors and Followership Behaviors are generally taught and can be learned. The Ideal Organization places a high priority on training and development. People come from a wide field of backgrounds; all have talents, skills and technological knowledge. When they arrive at the Ideal Organization, it’s vital that they are trained to learn the System Structure and the Company Culture as well as the behaviors essential to thrive. While personality traits do not change significantly, behaviors can change fairly easily. Clear expectations of behavior are taught and reinforced through honest, immediate feedback on a continual basis.
Documentation and studies show a strong correlation between company success and training. The Ideal Organization teaches both leaders and followers how to swim successfully, how to look out for sharks in the water and how to win. Training and Development occur on a frequent, regular basis both on the company grounds and off-site. Subjects are taught by both in-house and outside firms to allow for healthy breeding of thoughts, ideas, innovations and theory.
Empowerment—Let Me Do It
Perhaps one of the most difficult aspects to execute is Empowerment. It takes courage to give Empowerment but even more courage to let go and allow Followers to make mistakes and fall. Micromanagement is the opposite of Empowerment, which is founded on trust. Lt. Campbell wrote of his leadership in Joker One and how he empowered his Marines to do the right thing. By training them to think critically and analyze the combat situation and giving them the authority to act as necessary, Lt. Campbell’s unit was extremely successful their extreme war zone. Had he chosen to micromanage, Lt. Campbell’s men would have suffered far more injuries and deaths while waiting for orders in crucial situations. He expressed his confidence in the Marines and set very high standards of performance.
Responsibility and Accountability—Yes, I Did That
In the Ideal Organization, Empowerment is given with Responsibility and Accountability. Responsibility is tied at the hip with Integrity and Locus of Control. Leadership and Followership Behaviors exhibit responsibility for the execution of the Purpose, System Structure and Company Culture. In order to improve processes within the System Structure, actions are initiated to promote values and purposeful changes.
Responsibility is looking within oneself to determine what behaviors contributed to the situation and then claiming those behaviors. “Yes, I did this.” In the Ideal Organization, there is no reason to hide or sweep things under the carpet. Ideally, Leadership removes the fear of retribution when something goes wrong. Leadership is aware that the cause of the mishap probably lies within the System.
Being Accountable for behaviors is the other side of being Responsible. Accountability allows for rewards and punishments for behaviors accordingly for Followers. However, ultimately Leadership is held Accountable for everything within the organization.
Salary & Commission—Cashing In
As much as we like to think that people will work for free at this Ideal Organization, it’s important to be quite realistic. Although salary can be a motivating factor when considering a career change, it is a necessary part of life. In the Ideal Organization, one factor in calculating salary would be how often this position interacts with the customer. Paying the front line staff well would serve the Purpose and the customers well. Commissions would be very carefully crafted to encourage the behaviors that serve the Purpose, not someone’s ego or pockets.
Job Satisfaction—I Like It Here!
When all of the above factors serve the Purpose and the behaviors give life to the System Structure and Company Culture, Job Satisfaction would be incredibly high. After all, this is the Ideal Organization. When either Leaders or Followers are highly satisfied in their work, the commitment to the Purpose is also high. They are directly proportional and correlated. Turnover drops or is almost eliminated. Close relationships develop and the company thrives. Once again, when management takes care of the staff, the staff will take care of the customers, who will then take care of business. It all goes back to the Service-Profit Chain and the development of customer loyalty.
Performance Review—Applause Please!
At this point, the Annual Performance Review is only a formal documentation of each quarterly review. By providing continual feedback, behaviors can be quickly altered or solidified. Employees unwilling to change poor behaviors are fired far more quickly rather than allowing them to poison the Company Culture or teach others that poor behaviors are acceptable.
The Buck Stops Here
In the end, the foundation of any company or organization lies in the integrity of its leadership and to the Purpose. Everything else rests upon holding integrity to the Purpose. The Ideal Organization knows very clearly why it exists and communicates that in a way that is inspiring. It’s up to the Leadership to design a System Structure and develop a Company Culture to fully execute that Purpose with integrity.
