“The single most important thing that leaders do is to make good judgment calls … a keen sense of judgment makes or breaks a leader.”     So write Noel M. Tichy, of the Ross School of Business at Michigan State University and Warren Bennis, of the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business in their book, Judgment:  How Winning Leaders Make Great Calls.  Based upon extensive research and interviews with world-class leaders such as G.E.’s Jack Welch and  Jeff Immelt,  Boeing’s Jim McNerney and others,  the authors contend  making judgments calls is the ultimate act of leadership.

Traditionally judgment calls are usually   viewed as being an event:  a leader makes a decision  and then moves on.  On the basis of their research, however, the authors argue that a good judgment call involves more than a single moment.  It is a process, which starts with the leader recognizing the need for a decision, framing the judgment call and then continues through execution and adjustment.  Furthermore, sound judgment calls are not a solo effort but involve input and advice from support teams. Although the ultimate responsibility and final accountability belongs with the leader (“the buck stops here”), engaging others in the process ensures more effective judgment calls.  A necessary framework for success, however, is that the leader’s self-knowledge, social network knowledge, organizational knowledge and stakeholder knowledge (pp. 39-43).

The authors identify three key domains within the judgment call process:   people, strategy and crisis.  People judgments are the most difficult and critical  because they have a huge impact on everything a company, organization or church achieves.   Strategy calls are important, but when it comes down to it, it is the people who make things turn-out well or not.  Those on the team must  completely be aligned with  the vision and values of the company and possess the  competencies and gifts that match the  requirements of the task.   They must also be trustworthy and loyal. What makes people judgment calls so challenging is that they involve emotions, relationships, risks and possible personal pain, which even seasoned leaders frequently prefer to avoid.  Yet, the authors write, “If the people judgments are not sound, it is very hard to have good crisis judgments” (p. 208). 

This is why Tichy and Bennis argue that successful organizations are pro-active in building a leadership pipeline (p. 106).  What this means is that a company (or church) has an intentional strategy for   identifying   and investing   in promising emerging leaders from within its ranks.  Their research confirms that such a strategic investment builds healthier and more effective organizations than an approach which recruits leaders from outside the organization.  Consciously groomed candidates from within know and understand the culture, vision and values of their company.   The negative to such an institutional leadership development process is that it can create “bureaucratic dinosaurs producing leaders for yesterday’s realities.”  Leaders from outside bring a  fresh perspectives and a detachment that has the freedom to  identify and challenge bottlenecks within an organization,  which  “insiders” might not always see (p. 108).

Strategic judgments calls occur within the framework of what Tichy and Bennis the “big story line.”   These storylines are a clear mental framework, which  guide the leader’s thinking.  They are stories running through the leader’s head about how the world works and how they want things to work out   They include knowing what they are trying to accomplish, where they are headed and how they will get there.  Such stories not only communicate the strategic vision but also stir the emotions needed to motivate passion and action.   For example, when Jeff Immelt took over as C.E.O at General Electric, he respected the company’s storyline handed over to him by Jack Walsh.  But he moved beyond G.E. vision as being a solid producer of appliances and industrial  equipment into a new storyline of the company being a high tech provider of industrial and financial services.  Most dramatically, he consciously adopted a strategy that radically transformed the traditional G.E. storyline to now G.E. as now being seen as a highly innovative global corporate citizen.

“Great leaders,” Immelt told a group of MBA students, “drive change. I tell people within GE, we’ve got enough institutional momentum that if all we were going to stay the same, you don’t need me.  Leaders drive change.  Leaders drive change.  That’s you job. (p. 129).

According to the authors, strategic judgments require three steps:

  Step 1: Look at your environmental threats and opportunities.

 Step 2: Look at your internal strengths and weaknesses.

 Step 3: Come-up with products and services that will win, etc.

Even within this context, the authors argue that bad strategic judgment calls can be made because of human problems such defensive avoidance (delaying decisions unduly);  overreaction (making decisions impulsively in order to escape the anxious state and hyper-vigilance (obsessively collecting more and more information instead of making a decision).  Good strategic judgment is more than a rationalistic process or a purely intuitive and political muddling process.  Good strategic judgment is a blend (p. 134).

Crisis judgment calls provide what the authors call teachable moments.  It is during a crisis that effective leaders use the opportunity to reaffirm the vision, the values and storyline of the organization by asking questions such as “where are we now?” “where are we going?” “how will we get there?”  The ability to frame the nature of the crisis correctly is an essential skill. The most effective leaders prepare for a crisis before it occurs.  Such preparation includes having an unwavering commitment to make judgment calls with integrity and character.   Honorable judgment calls occur within the framework of prescribed moral principles and values,  which set  “clear parameters for what one will , and will not do” (p. 70).  Character is about knowing right from wrong and  having worked  these issues out long before facing tough judgment calls.” It means knowing your values and sticking to them no matter what.  Being clearly centered is necessary because many judgment calls are made on the fly.   Without such internal standards of integrity,  it is easy for a leader’s judgment to stray to settling for what is pragmatic and expedient (pp. 79-75).  Such temptations occur especially within the waving, vulnerable moments that occur when confronted with a crisis.

Courage is also required for making successful judgment calls  and especially in times of crisis.  Within “big”  judgments calls there is always much at stake and something big at risk.  The authors state it is through a lack of courage that some leaders fall down.  Through self-doubt,   a leader might fail to remain true to his or her standards (assuming  these are really his or her “standards.”).  In every difficult decision there are always people who will disagree with the positions of the leader and who might instigate push-back or obstacles.  This does not mean a leader will not listen to and weigh  conflicting  judgment calls. Indeed, the authors contend  that  a key principle for arriving at a sound judgment  is for the leader to draw on the wisdom and insights of varied   constituencies.  But, the effective leader will ultimately be guided by   ethical values, which place the well-being of the company above his or her own personal gain. 

In their book, Judgment,  Tichy and Bennis include many practical guides for making sound judgment calls  such as judgment execution plans, typical judgment errors, identifying blind spots, how to design your own judgment calls and  how to frame the judgment process  etc.  Among the most crucial insights is that even well construed judgment calls are meaningless unless they include a successful  action plan of execution.  The soundness of a judgment call ismeasured by its consequences  and practical outcomes.

Among the most helpful insights  come from the interviews  with successful leaders such as Jack Welch (G.E.), Jim McNerney (Boeing)  Jeff Immelt (G.E), A.G. Lafley (Proctor and Gamble)  and others,  as well as practical insights garnered from  references  to the judgment challenges that confronted  leaders such as Joel Klein (New York Department of Education);  Jacques  Nasser (Ford) and others.  By “putting a face” on the “nitty- gritty “realities these leaders confronted in making judgment calls within all of the complexities and uncertainties of leading their companies provide not only insight but even encouragement. As the authors constantly stress, even the most gifted leaders never bat 1.000 in making successful judgment calls.  But, much of their success is rooted in their willingness always to learn and to grow and in the process become more effective leaders.

For Christian leaders, Tichy and Bennis overlook several valuable resources for making “winning”   judgment calls, resources Christian tradition calls the process of  spiritual discernment.  These include prayer, insight from Scripture, Christian reason, experience and community,  as well as the wisdom and counsel  from mature Christians, whose judgment and insights are respected and valued.  Of course, the authors references to the role of character and courage resonate with those,  whose judgments would seek to live out  the mind of Christ.  As the authors note, even the most gifted leaders are aware that when it comes to making judgment calls, there is always room to grow and learn.  One way is through reading , pondering and learning from books such as Judgment:  How Winning Leaders Make Great Calls.  

—

Reference:  Noel M. Tichy and Warren G. Bennis,  Judgment:  How Winning Leaders Make Great  Calls 2007.

The recent bankruptcy of the Borders Group, the second-largest U.S. bookstore chain has led to a rash of post-mortems as to why it failed. The company has 6,100 full staff, operates 508 namesake superstores and  a chain of smaller Waldenbooks stores. As of December 25, 2010, it   has liabilities of $1.29 billion and assets of $1.2 billion.  Borders  plans to close 30 percent of its stores and continues to pay its employees. Among the reasons suggested for its demise are:

• Failure adequately to address the Internet sales channel and the subsequent e-book market.
• Poor real estate strategy
• Over investment in music
• Over-reliance on assortment size to compete as opposed to efficient operations.
• Failure to build efficient systems and processes.
• Branding failure.
• With the arrival of the Kindle, even impatient shoppers had no need of Borders.

Perhaps, the most insightful post-mortem  was offered by Paul Carr, who stated that  Border’s biggest mistake was its attempt to become a cool place to hang-out at the expense of selling books.  This TechCrunch’s noted purveyor of sarcasm wrote:

The company took a big gamble a decade or so ago in focusing on the notion of bricks-and-mortar book shopping as an “experience.” Stores were built with coffee shops and comfy chairs and warm little nooks in which people could hang out all day and read all the books and magazines they wanted.  Unfortunately, after finishing their coffee and free reading time, many of these people subsequently went home and took advantage of Amazon’s significant discounts to actually  buy books. Only a few customers, who demanded instant gratification,  needed to pay the full price in the store.

The Borders debacle obviously raises the issue of the challenge of balancing innovation while remembering your mission.  Its marketing strategies designed to respond to the changing lifestyles of  the book buying public overlooked the underlying mission of Borders, namely, the selling of books. In an attempt  to respond to the chaotic realities of  this “age of the unthinkable,” a similar balancing act is a challenge confronted by all leaders.   How do you balance innovation without forgetting your mission?

This dilemma is particularly vexing for church leaders.  In his insightful  book, The Culturally Savvy Christian, Dick Staub argues that in an effort  to connect with the lifestyle demands of our changing contemporary culture, many Christian leaders have forgotten why they are in “business.” He argues  many have settled for  promoting what he terms “Pop Christianity” or “Christianity- Lite.”  He writes, “This brand of faith tastes great but is less filling, and wherever it prevails, it is a source of impoverishment of faith and culture. Christianity, when it takes on these characteristics is an imposter.” Referring to A.W. Tozer, who believed churches are “failing” because they don’t know how truly to worship and lack a deep sense of the holy,  Staub states, “The number one reason the younger generation leaves the church is sobering; they have never experienced God there.”  Thus, one challenge confronting church leaders is how to “market” Christianity within our complex, chaotic, “age of the unthinkable” without losing our soul.

There might, however, be profounder reason for a disconnect between “outsiders” and the failure of churches to provide spiritually deep worship (although this is seminal).  In  their  book, UnChristian,for example,  David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons contend that for many  church “outsiders,” suffers from n image problem.  This is especially true of the Mosaic (1984 – 2002) and Busters ( 1965 – 1983) generations.   At a recent Academy leadership conference,   Alan Hirsch, author of ReJesus, confirmed this assessment.   In his largely secularized   Australia, researchers   found that when Australians were asked whether they   believed in God, nearly all  said they did. They shared  an equally favorable  view of Jesus and spirituality.  Yet, when it came to the organized church, nearly all gave an emphatic   thumbs down.  The same was true in Europe, where aside from baptisms, weddings and funerals, the church was almost completely marginalized.  He added that although  about forty percent of Americans  still attend weekly worship, the trend towards  secularism continues to grow.

Hirsch stated that a  basic principle in marketing is that if you have a good product and it is not selling, then you have a problem with your delivery system. The above surveys indicate the church has a great product, it just has a “lousy” delivery system.  Einstein, he continued, defined insanity as doing things the same way but expecting different results . The predominant present   ministry “delivery system”  of most churches is what might be termed the “attractional” model as  best expressed through  the assumption in the movie Field of Dreams, namely, “built it and they will come.  Even   celebrated “mega churches, such as Willowcreek follow this  ministry model.  Yet, under the leadership of Bill Hybels, this pioneering congregation is now realizing the shortcomings of this ministry paradigm.  Other super-aggressive “seeker-friendly churches, which in addition to investing in the “production”  of high-tech worship services, bowling alleys, Starbuck coffee shops and the decision not to display potentially offensive Christian cross, are also beginning to realize the limitations of a strategy of investing in a “Christianity-Lite” faith as the best way to bring the un-churched through their doors.

Certainly, the attractional model still continues successfully to reach many,  especially those who have been raised in the traditional  church culture. Yet, Jesus said “new wine requires new wine skins.” So an increasingly secular culture requires a new ministry for reaching “outsiders” for Christ.  This new paradigm , however, is not really new. As Hirsch and Michael Frost argue,  the “new” model  simply recovers the “forgotten ways”  used by both Jesus and the Early Church.  It is what they call the “missional”  model  in which Jesus ministered to people within the hub of their lives.  His was an incarnational ministry model of proximity.  Rather than having people come to him he went to themwhere they lived out their lives. As in sending Jesus into the world, God moved into our neighborhood, so Jesus   moved  into the neighborhood of  those to whom he brought the good news of God’s all- embracing forgiving love and grace.  Jesus did not “do” ministry at a distance.  He engaged and entered into the personal stories of those to whom he ministered,  whether a Mary at the well;  a Zaccheus, high in a sycamore tree, or a Peter, cleaning his fishing nets.  In each instance, Jesus  saw through  the externals to the person beneath , believing that each person is  of sacred worth, created in the image of God and full of God-entrusted potential.

As a missionary, Jesus met people within their specific cultural settings, even at the risk of being misunderstood by those who were the professional handlers of the holy.  For Jesus, the kingdom of God was not limited to the temple or the synagogue, but was alive and active even within the lives of those who might be dismissed by the religious establishment as  “sinners,”  beyond the pale of God’s redemptive love.  For Jesus believed that God was already at work within the lives of everyone.  John Wesley called this divine activity “prevenient grace,” God at work within our lives without us knowing it.

Indeed, a key in recovering what Hirsch calls the “apostolic imagination”  is to move beyond the narrow spiritually blind categories,  which would limit the transforming influence of God’s activity.   For God is is a missionary, continually seeking and wrestling with us, no matter where we live within our lives. Thus, in the great commission in Matthew 28: 16, Jesus commands  his followers to  “Go into the world and make disciples.” The operative word is “go!”

Shifting to the missional paradigm simply means opening up our imaginations and hearts to the unlimited possibilities of joining  God in what God is already doing. As case in point comes from the account given by a retired United Methodist pastor.   When asked what he was now doing, the  retired pastor replied, “My family and I have opened a little restaurant in my hometown.  We are open for breakfast and lunch.  I don’t do the cooking, I simply with the folks as they are eating.  We share stories, jokes, laughter and often deep conversation.  In a sense, our little restaurant has become a community watering hole.  Do you know, in three years I have talked and become engaged in the lives of more non-church folk and non-Christians in all of my forty years of ministry as a pastor.  Just the other day, some members of a motor cycle group dropped in for breakfast.  Black leather jackets, scraggly beards, ear rings, tattoos, the whole works.  I chatted with them as I do with all my guests and in passing mentioned a family in the community our church was helping, their house has been burned down.  Next day, the leader of the cyclists came in and called me to sit with him.  He then handed me a check for $1,000 for this family.  He said, “When you told me about that family, I asked our cyclists what did they think about helping the family. We took-up an offering and here is what we collected.  Who said the presence of God is limited within the four walls of a church sanctuary!”

The challenge is not only do most congregations not imagine  of doing ministry this way,  but many Christians are not sure how to connect with non-Christians.  Indeed, studies show within three years of becoming a Christian,  he or she has ceases to have a non-Christians circle of friends.  So, to move Christians out of their spiritual ghettoes,  a pastor might preach a series of sermons not only on what it means to be a missional church and missional disciples,  but also suggest  some concrete, practical suggestions of how to implement such steps.  These might include that  instead of the church opening a clothes closet have members partner with an existing  community closet, where they can, perhaps, work alongside some non-Christians; instead of joining  a church book club, join a community book club; instead of a church building a gym and walking track;  have church members join a local gym where they can cultivate friendships with non-Christians.

When, however, the pastor casts  this vision, there are two truths that should always remembered:

• All baptized Christians are called and empowered  by God to be “missional”  disciples.
• In  going,  we are simply joining God because the kingdom of God  is already at work in the person with whom we are prayerfully led to connect.
• The motivation is not to guarantee institutional survival but to grow Jesus people.

Further Reading:

Alan Hirsch and Michael Frost, ReJesus: A Wild Messiah for a Missional Church.2009

Alan Hirsch, The Forgotten Ways and The Forgotten Ways Handbook, 2009

Alan and Debra Hirsch, Untamed, 2010

David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons, UnChristian: What a New Generation Really Thinks About Christianity. 2007

Alan Hirsch, Right Here, Right Now. 2011

Leadership theorists once assumed that successful leaders had to possess a certain  physical   presence,  be  authoritative, have a firm handshake,  steady gaze, be dynamic,   charismatic  and   able to take charge or take care. Successful leaders were furthermore expected to possess defined  core competences, knowledge and   skill sets such as being adaptive enough  to respond to differing demands and situations.

In their book, The Leadership Code:  Five Rules to Lead By, authors David Ulrich, Norm Smallwood and Kate Sweetman  contend that such  leadership assumptions do not always  explain why some leaders are effective while others are not.  On the basis of their extensive research, they  argue within these variables  it is  possible to identify a clear  underlying set of rules that to be successful,  every leader must follow.  They term this  mandatory  set of rules for successful leaders “the leadership code” These five rules to lead by are:

Rule 1:  Shape the Future   (Strategist)

All  successful leaders are strategists.   They are clear about where they want to go.  The  language might differ whether called mission, vision, goals, objectives, values or outcomes but the common   purpose is to create a future that is even more attractive than the present. But being a strategist is more than being an idealistic vision caster because successful  strategist  combine vision and analysis.    Effective strategists face brutal facts and know an organization’s  (or church’s) core competencies, strengths and capabilities and know how to harness them.  They realize that strategic plan not rooted in reality  becomes  a SPOT (strategic plans on top shelf).

Effective strategies don’t what worked in the past  dictate future strategic  choices, they don’t just focus on small improvements, or simply follow other industry (or church) leaders  but instead leapfrog to an unique brand which sets an organization (or church) apart.  Effective strategists always ask, “What if  …” and explore possibilities. They are imaginative and constantly connect with cutting-edge thinkers and are committed to exploring new ideas.  They possess an openness which is always  ready  to learn and grow.

Strategists read broadly and make technology their friend.   They invite their savviest outsiders inside. They continually learn from their customers (parishioners, members of the community) — what they value, what made them initially choose their products  (or church)  and why they come back. They are constantly seeking to improve the product or service their group provides and how it adds  value to the life of their customers.

To have traction, a strategy   requires that employees (church members) passionately believe in the values that are inherent in the vision and the strategy.  There has to be an emotional connection at a very personal level.  This requires a clear communication of the vision and what makes it desirable and how and why it can create a preferred future.  Effective strategies are motivational, stir passion and energy because they challenge and bring out the best people, who feel they are being invited to be a part of something “great.”

Rule 2:  Make Things Happen     (Executor)

Effective leaders are also executors, they  know how to negotiate and make change happen.  Knowing where you are going and getting there are two different things.   Execution is making sure that you get where you are going. This requires  a clear decision making process which turns aspirations into action, desires into results, and the preferred  future into present reality.  To be effective  requires defined systems of accountability, strategies for engaging the right people, clear time lines and  a proficient use of resources.

Key change action questions include to what extent are strong leaders assigned to the project? To what extent is there a clear need for the project?  To what extent is there a clear direction for change? Is there a buy-in and commitment from the people necessary for implementing the change?  To what extent is there a clear breakdown  of what must be done in the short term verses in the long term to create the change.  What are the obstacles, barriers, centers of resistance and inertia?  What needs to be done to make change last and become institutionalized?

Initiating sustainable change is more than a matter of happenstance.   Effective executors take time to listen, to communicate, to build systems for feedback, have a intentional  protocol for decision making including what decisions need to be made, who  is going  to make the decisions, when will the decisions be made and how  good decisions will be ensured?    This system of accountability includes setting clear expectations and standards and determining consequences for meeting or missing standards and deadlines.

Successful change comes from as a team effort rooted in the building of strong relationships, a culture of candor and ongoing learning and trust.  Critical in nurturing  such a culture is an awareness  of common viruses that prevent change such as  over-informing  through having unnecessary meetings that slow things  down; the desire always to have it my own way;  Saturday morning quarterbacking; presenting  false  positives;  the need for  command and control; being hard on people instead of on the problem.  Similar barriers to change arise from being imprecise, a lack of clear and enforceable deadlines;  alack of a clear process and the determination that once a decision is made it is time to move forward.

Rule 3:  Engage Today’s Talent  (Talent Manager)

Effective leaders realize that effective leadership is not a matter of “I” but “we.”   Effective leadership never occurs in isolation from others.  Top companies for leadership have leaders who spend up to thirty percent of their time on talent issues.   Thus, successful leaders give time and attention to nurturing and developing others.  They engage others in defining strategies and executing goals.  Successful leaders get the most and the best out of people. They share credit for successes and take responsibility for failure.  They have enough personal confidence to surround themselves with people who are gifted, and they make use of other people’s gifts.  They generate intense loyalty both to themselves and in the direction of the company.

The authors identify six basic principles for successfully developing and nurturing talent.  These include the importance of clear communication especially having honest performance evaluations, communicating clear  and measurable  expectations, tailoring the message to fit the particular audience or individual, using personal illustrations and stories. They write, “If you are serious about retaining and developing talent you depend on, you need to connect with employees candidly through honest, open, two-way dialogue” (p. 84).

Investing and nurturing talent requires  being proactive by  continually  aligning  the individual with the vision and mission of the company (church); providing people with resources to cope with demands (“don’t just throw them to the wolves”), providing systems of encouragement and support and above all in creating  create an environment in which there is room for laughter, humor, celebration and fun!

Rule 4:  Build the Next Generation   (Human Capital Developer)

Successful   leaders know that today’s talent matters but also realize that tomorrow’s talent matters just as much.  Leaders who invest in tomorrow’s talent build for the future, create sustainability, and ensure a legacy. The investment and growth of human “capital”   is as strategically important as  investing in the growth of financial, informational and relational capital.   Success as a leader is measured to the extent he or she has built the next generation of leaders.

Effective leaders are like good parents. Good parents offer children to learn and grow in ways that enhance a child’s unique personality, gifts and strengths.  Because success requires having the right people in the right places at the right time with the right skills, effective leaders have the courage to make a differentiation of people and positions.  Some positions (roles, tasks, responsibilities) in a company (church) generate more customer share and economic revenue than others.  Effective leaders are willing often to have to make  difficult distinctions required in strategically deploying personnel.

Investing in the  next generation of leaders ensures continuity.  Here there is the need to “think carefully through your firm’s employee brand “ (p. 114).  What are the characteristics, the qualities, the leadership culture the company (or church”)  is trying to create?  Making this happen requires investing in  personnel by proactively “managing their careers.”  A striking illustration the authors use comes from an experience when they were teaching an expensive two – or four week executive program at the University of Michigan.  They found that fewer than 20 percent of those who attended (at great company and personal cost) had not had a career conversation about how the program fitted with their career interests. Write  the authors, “What a waste!” (p.115)

Successful leaders who seek to build the next generation are always thinking ahead. They identify and anticipate possible gaps in the talent pipeline and pan accordingly, whether such  gaps come with pending retirements or the possibility of new emerging challenges or tasks.  Investing in emerging leaders requires coaching and mentoring, delegating and empowering, sharing incentives, building networks and relationships.  It also requires the willingness to recognize each generation sees leadership.

Rule 5:   Invest in Yourself  (Personal Proficiency)

Personal proficiency is the ultimate rule of leadership and its starts  with knowing yourself.  This requires self-awareness and self-discipline.  Personal proficiency requires being grounded in clear core  values and beliefs, exercising credible judgment and possessing an  emotional intelligence that is self-aware and aware of others.  Personal proficiency comes from knowing your predispositions, strengths and weaknesses.  The personal insights that come from self-knowledge  liberate not limit proficiency.  It is critical to know what the authors call your “signature strengths” – both what you like doing and are good and going with them (p.138).

Successful leaders possess an inner security and resiliency which  only allow them to rebound from set-backs and what might be perceived as failures but are always ready to learn and grow. They extract important lessons from life experiences and thus grow in their discernment, courage, humanity and humility. In decision making they don’t become imprisoned or immersed in details but see patterns and are able to frame problems conceptually and are able to focus on the top few challenges that first need addressing. Thus, they avoid confusion and stress because they have they have learned how to think clearly and to remain centered.

But, such self-proficiency is rooted in a willingness always to learn and to grow. This includes being open to feedback, tending to your character because as the authors note, “character, morality, and ethics are the foundation principles for leadership” (p.146).   Thus, taking time for yourself is crucial, taking time for physical, emotional and spiritual renewing, surrounding yourself with a circle of support, whether colleagues, family, friends and faith.  Leadership is a team event not a solitary sport.  It is only as you take care of yourself that personal energy and passion remain aglow.  Write the authors, “Your ultimate passion is the passion you create in others” (p.150)

For the authors, their identification of these “five rules to lead by” have many numerous practical implications when it comes to leadership development. Most obviously, often individuals or organizations might excel in one or two of these leadership code rules to the expense of neglecting others. More to the point, it is that leadership development requires moving from “talking about leading to doing leadership” (p.170)   They write, “The action learning is done within the sweet spot of what they business needs and needs and needs to develop.”

A key concept for them is that any organization that seeks to invest in the development of high-potential leaders needs to have a leadership development strategy that place these high potential leaders in a variety of developmental experiences across company lines to test them and to provide them to provide them with the experience set they will need to be effective senior leaders. Within the United Methodist system, such a vision for investing in and developing senior leadership has many obvious strategic implications.

—

Dave Ulrich, Norman Smallwood, Kate Sweetman, The Leadership Code, Five Rules to Lead By.  Harvard Business Press, 2008.

Whether deliberately  or unintentionally, each company, organization or church possesses a distinctive culture.  For example, Nordstrom prides itself on its signature customer service.  It is no accident, therefore, when a smiling Nordstrom salesperson steps from behind the counter to hand   a  customer  the item, which  he or she has purchased.  Such personal attentiveness reflects the defining culture of this upscale department store.  The defining culture of Southwest Airlines is that it sees itself as being a “family.”  This vision does not only apply to how it treats its employees, but also its passengers.  Thus,  Southwest does not charge baggage fees because its  passengers  are also viewed as being  a part of the “family.”

Defining and developing a distinctive corporate culture requires proactive purpose.   It is here the role of a leader is crucial because he or she is the cultural leader.  This does not mean that being the cultural leader simply requires the mandating and maintaining of  training programs and structures designed to instill within employees the vision, values, objectives of  the corporation, organization or church.  Providing training manuals, viewing motivational videos and even demanding all employees and team members participate in an obligatory three-month orientation program certainly might help.  But, as cultural leader, it is the leader who must directly be responsible for modeling  the organization’s  culture.

In his article, “Key Leadership Challenges for Present and Future Executives,” William C. Steers, chairman of the Board and CEO of Pfizer Inc, writes that a critical step in leadership is to recognize that organizational culture is a pressing business issue. He argues, “Shaping it is a principal senior leadership responsibility.” It cannot be delegated to human resources or some other department.   Senior leaders are both the architects and the general contractors.  Steere contends, “They should be judged not only by the elegance of their plans, but also the quality of implementation and maintenance of the design.”

According to Steere, there are several key elements of organizational culture:

• Identifying and communicating the core values and principles that guide organizational behavior and decision making

• Specifying behaviors that exemplify the company’s values or principles (and, by inference, those that do not) and leading by example

• Developing  a method by which individuals can receive feedback on their performance in both business-finance and behavioral terms

• Ensuring that the rewards or reinforcement systems are consistent with organizational values and principles, recognize and promote desirable behaviors, and punish undesirable behaviors

• Personally assuming the responsibility of championing the desired culture and recognizing the need for redundancy and reinforcement concerning what is expected and what is negotiable.

Being a cultural leader requires consistent attention and focus.  At the same time, there is the need to recognize that there will always be a creative tension within an organization, group or church congregation.  Such tension should not be regarded negatively since all dynamic, creative, vital and healthy groups are marked by positive tension. It is this realization that requires a cultural leader to give a high priority to nurturing positive, open and transparent relationships.  Fostering such relationships through the use of language, listening skills, the propagation of values and clarification of core values are all keys to building community, respect and dignity.   Harvard Business School professor, James L. Heskett  insightfully states “Relational power is a term that might be added to the lexicon of all cultural leaders.”

Being a company’s cultural leader cannot be done at a distance.  This is especially the case within our increasingly complex technological society  with its often impersonal and removed ways of communicating.  Certainly, video conferencing and other means of connecting are often economically and logistically desirable,  but to overlook or downplay the formative value of face-to-face networking  can undermine the  qualitative  nurturing and shaping of a corporate  culture.  A defining quality of the leadership of Abraham Lincoln was his belief and practice of visiting his troops in the field.   A leadership axiom states, “It is good to see and to be seen.” Writes James O’Toole, “Respect for followers is made manifest by listening to them, faithfully representing them, pursing their noblest aspirations, keeping promises made to them, and never doing harm to them or their cause.” There is no substitute for personal leadership presence.

This is especially true when it comes to being an effective cultural leader.   Taking time to build  relationships of trust signifies  respect and the honoring  of personal dignity.   One of the best illustrations of how this is done is revealed in the cultural leadership style of Michael J. Roberts, former President and Chief Operating Officer of McDonald’s Corporation.  In what Roberts calls the process of “Noodle Teams,” he made it  his practice personally to meet four times a year over a three-day period with employees around the region or world, suppliers, owner operators and external experts  for  “gloves-off” feedback sessions.  These provided Roberts with unfiltered ground-level operational and relational information. Roberts listened, took notes, probed, asked questions, sought clarification and  was never defensive as he heard the stories from those working  on the front lines of the day-to-day operations of the organization.   Such face-to-face sessions enabled Roberts not only to gain direct empirical operational data and insight as to where improvements might be made  but also helped to   build a corporate culture of candor and trust.

Being an effective cultural leader demands being available, authentic, transparent, vulnerable, consistent and credible.  This does not imply a requirement of  being perfect.  Quite the contrary.  As even the Bible reminds us, no leader is perfect.  In fact,  one of the most potent leadership teaching tools is to communicate the fact  that despite possessing  strong core values and a clear vision, even the most competent and revered cultural leaders remain fallible, err,  fall short and are in need of understanding, empathy,  forgiveness and grace. It was the nineteenth century celebrated Episcopalian pulpit prince of Trinity Church, Boston, Phillips Brooks, who often spoke of “truth through personality.”  As a cultural leader, perhaps, this is a key insight as a marker for effectiveness.  For every effective leader continues to learn, to grow and mature.  Seeming setbacks and failures are to be put under the category of   “lessons learned.”

There is a late nineteenth century painting by James Ensor entitled, Christ’s Entry into Brussels in 1889. Obviously based upon the Palm Sunday entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, the painting depicts a pressing , jostling  crowd crushing upon each other.  There are flags, banners, a vast variety of faces, including many in this  almost unruly mob wearing black, white and colorful masks.  To the right in the painting are some spectators peering down upon the scene from on  a high platform. They are frantically trying to identify the center of celebration, Jesus.  But, Jesus is difficult to see. A similar frustration confronts   the viewer of the painting.  He is nowhere to be seen!  Finally, after endless searching   Jesus can be identified. The question the viewer of the painting asks,  “If Jesus is the leader of this would-be political and spiritual revolution, where is he?  If he is the leader why isn’t  out-front and easily recognized?”  But, here is the clue.  As the cultural leader of this movement, his leadership was  not authenticated by  position, power and prestige but by the moral influence of his character  and person.  Those who embrace his cause were magnetically drawn by his humility, sensitivity, his awareness of their humanity and the challenges they confronted  within their lives.  His cultural leadership was  that of a servant leader.

In the book, Compassion: a Reflection on the Christian Life, Henri Nouwen writes:

When we give up our desires to be outstanding or different, when we let go of our needs to  have our own special niches in life, when our main concern is to be the same, and to live out this sameness in solidarity, we are then able to see each other’s unique gifts.  Gathered together in common vulnerability, we discover how much we have to give to each other …. It belongs to the essence of this new togetherness that our unique talents are no longer objects of competition but elements of community, no longer qualities that divide but gifts that unite.

Further Reading:

Frances Hesselbein et al., The Leader of the Future, Jossey Bass. 1996.

Essay by William C. Steer, Jr., “Key Leadership Challenges for Present and Future Executives.”

James O’Toole, Leading Change,  Jossey Bass, 1995.

Ron Carucci, “Bridging the Leadership Divide,” Journal of Leadership Studies, Vo.  5, No. 3, pp. 65-73.

Effective leaders must manage the dynamics of the relationships between themselves and their future executives.

However, in today’s business world the older methods of command and control do not apply. Emerging leaders have already decided against following the traditional management and leadership mold. Bridging generational gaps in styles of communication, assumptions about authority, power, control and lifestyles are difficult challenges.

On May 8 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., author Ron Carucci and his colleague Josh Epperson will conduct a workshop for local business leaders and executives at the North Ridge Country Club in Raleigh, N.C. presented by the Academy for Leadership Excellence. At this workshop, they will offer practical steps for managers eager to change workplace culture in ways that nurture and grow tomorrow’s leaders from their own ranks.

To register for this event, visit theafle.org. Cost is $75 per attendee, or $65 each for a team of 3 or more. Registration includes a continental breakfast, lunch and a copy of Carucci’s book “Leadership Divided: What Emerging Leaders Need and What You Might Be Missing”.

Businesses can sponsor a table for $1,000. This covers a reserved table for 8, plus logo recognition on the Academy’s website and from the podium.

The front page of The Wall Street Journal featured two photographs of the movie actor, Michael Douglas. The photo on the left was of Douglas, when he played Gordon Gekko, the notorious Wall Street insider trader in the movie, Wall Street. Slick black hair, arrogant, confident, ambitious, cut-throat, a take-no-prisoners, power and control Alpha male, Gekko’s guiding credo was, “Greed is good!” The photo on the right was of the much older, now grey-haired, lined-faced actor, who had been recruited to make an FBI public service announcement. The new Douglas proclaimed, “Greed is bad!” The photos accompanied an article headlined, “Insider Trading Targets Expanding”. The news story announced that the FBI was in the process of building cases against roughly 120 individuals on and off Wall Street for insider trading.

For those who play in this high stakes insider trading arena, any reference to ethical leadership might seem archaic and naïve, for its guiding “ethical” principles tend to be the “law of the jungle” or “the law of survival”. Its high priest might well be Machiavelli, who believed that successful leaders see the world as it really is. Rather than living in “imaginary worlds”, such leaders recognize the hard realities which motivate human behavior — brutal facts such as greed, selfishness, lust, power and expediency.

In the wake, however, of the leadership scandals at corporations such as Enron and Tyco, not to mention the tragic Penn State firing of disgraced legendary coach, the late Joe Paterno, greater attention is being given to moral leadership. Daniel Goldman’s pioneering work, Emotional Intelligence, revolutionized leadership learning by arguing that emotional self- awareness and an awareness of the feelings of others are critical leadership skills. Now, ethical intelligence is being deemed to be of even greater importance for successful leadership.

Ethical intelligence is not merely a matter of knowing what is right; it means having the courage to do what it right. Ethical intelligence refers to moral character, moral judgment, moral awareness, moral reasoning, moral intent and moral behavior. In fact, the passionate advocate of this necessary leadership skill set, Bruce Weinstein, suggests ethical intelligence might be the most practical form of intelligence there is – and the most valuable. This is because leaders are “the ethics teachers of their organizations”. Their decisions and actions reveal, test and shape the moral character of their companies.

Mission statements, credos, ethical codes and compliance regulations assuredly provide guidance and a context for a leader’s moral judgment. Johnson and Johnson responded quickly and effectively to its Tylenol crisis because, under the insistence of its long-time chairman, General Robert Johnson, its credo had been carefully crafted and updated to remain relevant to changing circumstances and challenges. Furthermore, there was a clearly delineated order for prioritizing decisions: mothers and doctors were ranked far ahead of shareholders and short-sighted profits, which might risk the entire company’s ethical reputation.

Leaders need “definitions-in-action” for guidance as they seek to make moral judgments in response to the often messy, ambiguous constraints of time, budgets and uncertain outcomes. The moral culture of Johnson and Johnson made this possible by placing the highest priority on ethical education, responsibility and behavior. In the phrase of Stephen Covey, their culture promoted principle-centered leadership. The leaders of Johnson and Johnson would readily confess, however, that their pathway of developing a highly sensitive ethical culture required a long and often painful learning process.

America’s Funniest Home Videos once featured a clip of a father quizzing his toddler about animal sounds. The dad asked, “What does the duck say?” The response: “Quack, quack, quack!” “What does a cow say?” “Moo, moo, moo!” “What does a pig say?” “Oink, oink, oink!” Finally, the dad asked, “What does mommy say?” “No, no, no!” If only making ethical judgments was always that straightforward and simple! Even with grand moral principles and compliance systems, there are still gaps when it comes to providing a desired moral clarity. Choices are not always simply between good and evil or right and wrong, but between right and right.

Consider the struggles within defining moments which frequently juxtapose conflicting loyalties, duties, demands and responsibilities of seemingly equivalent ethical value and weight. Within such situations, which comes first — your job security, the members of your team, the welfare of your family, your health, or your soul? Thus, when Jesus told the religious teacher that the demands of the Torah could readily be summarized by the mandates to love God and your neighbor, the sincere inquirer asked, “But who is my neighbor?” Rather than providing a casuistic set of definitive moral guidelines, Jesus told the parable of the Good Samaritan, which allowed room for the imagination.

Here is the key, perhaps, when it comes to ethical intelligence and moral judgment. For in the end, vexing moral dilemmas might ultimately be reduced to answering the question, “Who am I; what do I value; to what and to whom do I owe my highest loyalty?” Assuredly, a sound ethical instinct does not negate the necessity for logic, common sense and serious attention to the relevant facts. One trait that made George Washington such an effective leader was not just that he consulted others for insight and advice, but that he placed high value upon prudence. But, once he had arrived at a judgment, he acted firmly and without compunction. This was because he operated within the context of a strong sense of moral identity: He knew who he was and what he believed.

As is the case with many other effective leaders, Washington often withdrew to spend time in reflection and prayer. Before making decisions that had profound consequences, Jesus also drew apart for “balcony time”. Anyone who has read the United Nations former General Secretary, the late Dag Hammarskjold’s classic, Markings, quickly realizes how those entrusted to positions of extraordinary responsibility and power seek ethical guidance and strength through the solitude of meditation and prayer.

Here lies the value of the insightful book, Building Bridges, by Barbara Mulkey. A gifted entrepreneur and one of only two women in civil engineering in her class at North Carolina State University, Mulkey was also a pioneer in breaking the glass ceiling of this once male-dominated profession. Her beautiful book allows the reader to see the ethical challenges she confronted not just through the eyes of an engineer, but also through those of a wife, a mother, a community leader and a Christ-follower. Most significantly, she tracks her ethical decisions down to her Christian roots. In discussing, for instance, the moral dilemmas that accompany the construction of an interchange, she admits, “Planners must balance the quality added with the potential quality taken away.”

This is frequently how it is with the “real” world. Adam Hamilton reminds that when it comes to making moral choices, ours is seldom a black and white world but rather a world painted with grays. For church leaders, the paradigm of preaching pious pulpit ethical platitudes will no longer “cut it”. Responsible church leaders are called to assist and train their people about how to become ethically intelligent. This is especially necessary for those entrusted with leadership, not just within the world of work, but also within their family, community and the wider world. In his bestseller, Ethical Intelligence, Bruce Weinstein suggest there are five principles for guiding ethical decision making:

Do no harm
Makes things better
Respect others
Be fair
Be loving

John Wesley suggested three:

Do no harm
Do good
Stay in love with God.

Within these precepts, however, there are other fundamental ethical values such as truth telling, promise keeping, confidentiality, rectifying injustices, allocating resources and the fundamental of remembering, as a Christian, who you are. Writing to the Philippians, Paul admonished the faithful to fill their minds with everything that is good, worthy of praise, true, noble, right, pure, lovely and honorable (4:8). In 1 Corinthians 13:1-13, the apostle enjoined the Corinthians to live with an unconditional love that is patient, kind, humble, well mannered, forgiving and compassionate. Such qualities are the qualities of integrity and character. It is within morally defining moments that a person comes to decide what is really ethically important to him or her. As the Biblical account of the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness suggests, it is within the crucible of temptation that character is revealed.

Walter Wink reminds us that there are within our world demonic systems of evil designed to dull and corrode moral sharpness. The most stinging criticism of the scandals at Enron, Tyco and Penn State was that those in leadership roles failed to exercise appropriate moral oversight and create a climate that encouraged ethical sensitivity. Thus, those caught in this corrosive environment gradually became indifferent or insensitive to ethical issues. The consequence of this neglect was the reaping of a whirlwind of personal pain, tragedy and suffering for those and others caught within this web of moral indifference. Few would be charged with being immoral but instead with being failures in moral leadership.

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References:

Joseph L. Badaracco, Jr. Defining Moments: When Managers Must Choose Between Right and Right. 1997.
Barbara Mulkey, Building Bridges, 2011
Bruce Weinstein, Ethical Intelligence: Five Principles for Untangling Your Toughest Problems at Work and Beyond. 2011.
Deborah L. Rhode (Editor), Moral Leadership: The Theory and Practice of Power, Judgment and Policy, 2006.