An executive chef is responsible for knowing which values to emphasize.
Today I want to examine the issue of clear values as they relate to leadership. As important as it is to have strong values, good leaders know which values to emphasize. In every aspect of business, values come in to play, and each individual is responsible for upholding the values of the company they work for. I really liked this article I found on Sea Point Center that get this message across very clearly.
Good Leaders Know Which Values to Emphasis
Can everyone in your organization explain each of the values and how they personally act on them? They can at companies like Disney, Starbucks, Southwest, McDonalds and Google – all listed in the top 15 of the 2012 most admired companies.
Why I fired my tree service company
Our fruit trees are sprayed three times during the summer. One day the tree service showed up while my teenage son was mowing the lawn. They were both still there as I returned from work.
The man had aimed his sprayer at the apple tree, but it was a windy day, and the spray was blowing directly toward my son. I jumped out of my car and ran to the man yelling, “Watch out! Your spray is blowing on that boy!”
“I know,” he replied in a reassuring voice. “I asked him, and he said he didn’t mind.” – The boy might not have minded, but his mother sure did!
Because the company had not clearly articulated and communicated safety as guiding values to their employees, they lost my business.
Don’t wait for senior leadership
If you are a team leader, you must help your team translate the company values into team values in order to make them actionable. I don’t want to let senior leadership off the hook, but if the company hasn’t articulated values, it’s not an excuse to wait. Go ahead and create your own team values.
- Identify the values needed to support your team’s purpose. Don’t assume that any are understood. If integrity or ethics are important, it needs to be listed.
- Don’t choose more values than people can easily remember. You don’t need to list each person’s personal values. As long as there are no values conflicts, they can still act on them. Focus on the values that are the key drivers to accomplish your mission.
- Communicate them clearly and frequently so everyone knows what they are. Translate them into behaviors, not simply a list of words. Describing behavioral examples helps people understand what they look like when they are lived.To Read the Full Article click here…
