Leadership Demands Straightforwardness and Honesty

Last month I talked to two people, whose companies hadnradically different displays of Congruence--the element of Trustnthat shows how well what you do reflects what you say. nn(See the end of the column for a free download of the questionsnfrom the Strategic Alignment Survey, which measures Congruence,nand other elements of Trust and Alignment.)

Bill is a senior manager in a small company that imports andndistributes products for agriculture and industry. In his latenforties, he is intense, always thinking about the business,ncontinually looking for ways to improve profitability.

We were talking about the role of the senior management team,nand the importance of leading by example. The owner believesnthat employees are the key to serving the customer, a beliefnshared passionately by Bill, and the other members of thensenior management team.

"I wouldn't have it any other way," says Bill. "I joined thisncompany because I knew the owner, and that he's the type guynwho means what he says, and leads by example."

The company is successful, and their practices show that theynvalue the frontline employees. "We believe that the frontlinenemployees are the most important people in the company. It'sntheir actions that keep our customers happy, that maintainngreat relationships with our suppliers and vendors."

This is why when Bill sees a problem, he checks first with thenemployees to get their take on the solution. It's also whynmorale is so high in Bill's company.

Contrast Bill's situation with Rita's. Rita is a seniornmanager in a much larger organization. Her division hasnseveral hundred professionals, and when I mention morale, Ritanreacts with a rueful laugh.

"Morale? It's terrible," she says. "The employees aren'tnstupid. They hear senior management talk a good game, but theynsee that management's actions don't reflect what they say."

Employees aren't consulted about changes that affect them,nabout solutions to problems.

"Solutions," says Rita, "are mandated by senior management,nwith no employee input. And the solutions usually make thingsnworse, not better. Employees see that senior management caresnabout themselves, and not the employees."

Communication is poor, and management's actions often express andisregard for the employees, so that employees don't believenfor a moment that management really cares about them. And itnshows in low productivity.

What Bill and Rita are talking about is Congruence, thenconsistency between what people say and what they do.

When Bill's senior management team says they care aboutnemployees, they're believed. When Rita's team says the samenthing, they're not.

The two behaviors that build Congruence are Straightforwardnessnand Honesty.

Being straightforward means communicating clearly and often,ngiving people clear goals and responsibilities. It meansntelling people what is expected in performance, and identifyingnthe rewards for successful performance, and the consequencesnfor falling short.

Being honest means telling the truth all the time. Honestynmeans that if we can't tell someone something, we say so. Ifnwe don't know the answer, we say so and promise to find out.
If we make a mistake, we admit it.

When we're straightforward and honest, we meet conflictnhead-on, and don't sweep important issues under the rug.

Bill reports another benefit to being straightforward andnhonest: Some people who aren't contributing will leave thenorganization, voluntarily or by being fired. Either way,npeople who can't work in this kind of environment will leave,nmaking the company better.

The opposite will happen in Rita's organization.

Good people who see no consequences for poor performance, whonsee a disconnect between what management says and what they do,nwill leave the organization. Also, poor performers will benmore likely to stay, which reduces effectiveness andnprofitability.

This tale of two companies demonstrates that what seniornmanagement says MUST be congruent with what they do.

The same applies to your team. If you're the team leader,nyou're the "senior management" of the team, and you must bencongruent. That means being consistent, being straightforward,nbeing honest.

What are you doing to display Congruence? How would the peoplenaround you rate your being straightforward and honest?

If you'd like a free copy of the 58 questions from thenStrategic Alignment Survey, just click on this link and follownthe directions for downloading the pdf:
https://www.mcssl.com/app/adtrack.asp?MerchantID=55031&AdID=307559nnUntil next edition, keep leading the way!

Copyright (C) 2007 by Terry Wall

For information on my Leadership & Executive Coaching services:
http://www.tgwall.com/LeadershipCoaching.html