Ethical Behavior Coupled with Integrity

Continuing on the topic of Integrity from last week, let us look at how ethical processes support a leader's integrity in driving the business success.

A recent study performed by the Institute of Business Ethics (IBE) found that companies displaying a ‘clear commitment to ethical conduct’ consistently outperform companies that do not display ethical conduct. The director of IBE, Philippa Foster Black stated, “Not only is ethical behavior in business the right thing to do in principle, it also pays off in financial returns.”

Part of your commitment as a business leader is to create and maintain the processes and a culture that dictates ethical behavior. Ethical behavior is not an easy path, nor is it a path taken without thought and consideration. As a leader, decision with value connections will be presented frequently. Examples could include employees stealing from the company, doing personal business on company time, modifying accounting records, or extending a customer discount that was not earned, etc.

Clearly defined organizational goals and clearly stated organizational values are integral to your ability to make the best decisions and take the right actions. As you deal with different types of situations you are being evaluated very closely by your team. As you lead by example, you become a champion for the organization’s commitment to ethical behavior. As you look to enhance the ethical policies and processes within your company, here are some principles to take into consideration:

·         Be trustful: Recognize that customers and employees want to do business with an organization they can trust. When trust is at the core of an organization, it is easy to recognize.

·         Meet obligations: Regardless of the circumstances, do everything in your power to keep commitments and obligations to employees and customers. An incredible amount of trust is built when an organization honors its commitments. If unforeseen events stand in the way of meeting an obligation, immediately communicate the challenges and work together to find resolution.

·         Reevaluate all documents and materials: Make sure all department and organizational documents and literature are clear and precise. Make sure they don’t misinterpret or misrepresent.

·         Have documented processes: Every organization is structured differently. However, having documented processes and policies on how your organization interacts with customers and employees is critical. If processes are properly documented there is no question what a product or service should be or whether a customer exception falls within the acceptable guidelines. Take a hands-on approach to all accounting and record keeping as it will allow you to end an inappropriate action in a timely fashion.

·         Be respectful: Treat employees and customers with respect regardless of differences, positions, titles, ages, or diversity. Always treat others with respect and courtesy even if you agree to disagree.

Successful implementation of these five principles becomes a leader’s daily commitment and responsibility.

Oprah Winfrey said it quite simply, “Real integrity is doing the right thing, knowing that nobody’s going to ever know whether you did it or not.”

Integrity Really Matters

When preparing future leaders to take on greater responsibility, organizations are looking for integrity and excellent communication skills.

In a recent study conducted by Robert Half Management Resources, it was concluded that beyond technical and functional expertise, the following traits were high on an organization’s list of leadership requirements. The survey included 1,400 CFO’s from a random sample of US companies with 20 or more employees.

• Integrity – 33%
• Interpersonal/Communication Skills – 28%
• Initiative – 15%
• Ability to Motivate Others – 12%
• Business Savvy – 10%

Pay attention to any form of business news and it will quickly confirm that integrity in business is becoming a lost art. Companies want quick fixes, fast money, and magic bullets. Companies are not spending the necessary time to create and maintain cultures of integrity, values, and processes, or making the right decisions for the right reasons. Lack of corporate integrity has been the documented cause of organizational demise, severe embarrassment, and financial loss many times within the last fifteen years.

The examples start with the avalanche of accounting scandals in 2001 and 2002, which included the Enron debacle and companies such as Tyco, Arthur Anderson, and Kmart. Forbes magazine created a Corporate Scandal Sheet listing just accounting imbroglios like the companies listed above. The list was published on August 26, 2002 and sadly is quite long. In the last few years, we have seen similar challenges in the financial and mortgage world with AIG, Goldman Sachs, Freddie, and Fannie.

Corporate integrity is not a choice, nor should it be implemented for shear convenience. Integrity is the concept of consistency of actions, values, methods, measures, principles, expectations, and outcomes. In ethics, integrity is regarded as the quality of having a sense of honesty and truthfulness.

Fast Company conducted a study with the objective being to gather perceptions about specific characteristics of leaders. 95% of respondents said “yes” or “absolutely” when asked. Do the ethics of the CEO play a meaningful role in the way business gets done? Respondents go on to say “Good ethics is also good business. It builds the brand, draws customers, and saves money in the long run.” (Fast Track Leadership Survey August 2005)

Organizations must take the time to define their core values. Clearly defined core values create a sense of unity and help the company steer all of their resources in a focused and meaningful direction. It is the spirit that drives the company regardless of its industry or size and helps the organization make appropriate decisions in tough times. Core values provide answers to tough questions and act as a guiding light in situations of conflict. Leaders with integrity must have an unwavering commitment to the organization’s core values and they must be willing to defend them.

There are no quick fixes, or magic bullets. Money needs to be earned. Show your external and internal customers, as well as all of your stakeholders, that your organization stands for something and that it has self-imposed rules that guide all decisions.

Leading with integrity sends a powerful message to employees.

Your leadership by example is critical to creating an environment and culture of integrity throughout the entire organization.

Integrity really does matter!

Empowering the Human Potential

Here are 4 reasons why human potential should infect your organization and how to make it happen.

Human beings ALWAYS have purpose – It is in our nature to want to make a positive contribution to something bigger than ourselves. We want what we do to matter in some way that is meaningful to us. We MUST have purpose, or we begin looking for it somewhere else. Instead of trying to train the humanity out of those in your organization, let their humanity infect your organization. Imagine that - Human beings interacting with other human beings to meet the needs of a lot of human beings. The atmosphere of your organization doesn’t need to be much more complicated than that.

• Human potential doesn’t recognize limits – When human beings get to operate in their “zone”, they are completely unstoppable. Everything becomes a possibility. No one can demand that kind of dedication and focus, no matter how well written the job description is. Ask those human beings you are leading what would excite them about doing their job. Then… shut up and just listen. Seriously consider whatever they say. You may be surprised by the creativity you discover.

• The pursuit of human potential is contagious – You don’t have to get everyone on board to make this work! Find some influential human beings in your organization and let them loose. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. There have to be some form of boundaries, but don’t get so hung up on them. Let them be guard rails so they can take a curve a bit faster than normal without the fear of going over the edge. Once others see the freedom and gratification that comes with it, as well as the support from leadership, they’ll come around soon enough.

• Human potential frees up leadership – So often leaders read about how they should be interacting with others. YOU are a human being too. How would you like to have the freedom to explore and hunt down your potential? Not to tame or subdue it, but interact with it and learn to run wild with it. The best part about being a leader is you get to lead by example. Be an example of human potential gone wild. Infect your organization with your human potential.

• Every human being on this planet has something amazing to bring to the world. We also have some very ugly things to bring to the world as well. Great leadership recognizes that amazing bit of human potential and helps clear a space for it to thrive and choke out the ugly bits. That’s your responsibility to the human beings in your organization. I don’t think I need to point out the profit that can come from this… you already get that.

Celebrate and empower human potential. Run wild. Be profitable.

I would love to hear your comments on this… human to human.

How Do You Unlock the Barriers to Your Potential?

Scientific experiments reveal that we use only 10% of our brain capacity. Scientists also tell us that humanity is only using 10% of its DNA. Psychologists tell us that we are only 10% conscious. Most people are not aware of the other 90% of their thoughts. They are buried in our subconscious yet they affect everything about us. We are said to be unconscious. The body only uses about 10% of the available oxygen it takes in and most people only breathe at 10% of their capacity. Is this just a play on numbers and a coincidence or does this pattern have meaning for you and me?

I don’t know much about coincidences. But, it seems that most of humanity is living within a prescribed range of what is viewed normal. Since very few have had experiences outside the range of normal, the collective view is that such things are wishful thinking. But I don’t believe that. It does not have to be this way. Right now you can change the way things are and tap into your human potential.

Let’s say that you want to be smarter tomorrow, that you want to double the capacity of your brain power. In fact, let’s say that upon waking up tomorrow we will use 20% of our brain instead of the normal 10%. Ready! Set! Go!

So, Where Do We Begin?

Go where?

Do What?

How?

That’s exactly the point.

Where do we begin? 

How do we tap into this potential? 

We cannot simply increase our brain capacity, activate more DNA or become more conscious by turning on a switch. There is no such switch nor should there be since these are effects not causes. But the causal point of our suppressed potential can be accessed through our breath capacity. Even our breath capacity is only at 10% because of energies that lie within our system that contract and restrict the diaphragm. Within the diaphragm lies our potential. Every limiting belief, negative thought form, negative program is reflected in these restrictions. The key is finding the key that unlocks the diaphragm and allows you to access your potential.

At some time in your life you unconsciously decided to block out the truth of who you are and temporarily decided to believe in lack and limitation. You took on a role to be less than you are. This is the path of the human condition. Everyone must pass this way. But we don’t have to stay stuck here. We just have to remember.

Is it a Choice? 

What is keeping you where you are is a choice. It is a choice to hold onto the story of who you think you are. So many who come to us are stuck here and are suffering through sadness and grief, anger and fear. They know not what to do. With love in our hearts, we tell you it is safe to let go of that story. Your story is just an energy configuration that remains locked within your subtle bodies. When we free up that energy, we can use it to create a new story, a new world view.

For you to have a new world view, you must first acknowledge it is possible. You must go against the flow of the collective consciousness of humanity and invite into your consciousness that a new possibility is possible. When you have done this, you have taken a giant leap forward. But there is more.

This simple step applied consistently will help you manifest more of the following:

• Your level of consciousness will increase. As you become more aware of your creations you will become a more powerful conscious creator. You will have the ability to create a new story.

• Your breathing will open up delivering more oxygen to the body. As a result your energy level will improve, immune functioning will be enhanced and you will sleep better at night. Things will happen with less effort as you begin to flow with life rather than resist it.

• Brain functioning will increase as more oxygen is delivered to the brain and your mind becomes less cluttered by unconscious thoughts. Mental clarity is enhanced.

• More DNA will be accessible. The solar plexus is the seat of the emotional body. The energies that suppress our breath capacity are emotional in origin. As we free these energies, this new energy will rise up and into the heart chakra activating more love in our hearts. It is this newly found love energy that has the power to activate the unused coding within our DNA.

Conscious breathing is the key to unlock your potential. When you open your breath, everything changes. Anytime you change the way you think or the way you look at things, every time you heal, your breath pattern has to change. If it doesn’t change, the change/healing will not be maintained. The breath must change for the energy to change. All of this happens unconsciously. No matter what you do or how you do it, why not bring the conscious awareness of the breath to it. It will help make everything you do manifest more quickly and easily. It is the key to unlocking your potential and stepping beyond the barrier of the 10%.

Are You Aware of Your Potential?

“I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you. We are in charge of our attitudes.” – Charles Swindoll

We may not be able to change what has happened to us thus far in life, such as our biological parents, or other factors, which have influenced us. We can’t control many of the things, which happen to us in life. We can, however, control how we respond to what happens to us. Personal skills, competencies, and worth can be improved regardless of age or position. Far too often, failure is blamed on external circumstances: other people or things beyond our control. But that is rarely the case. There are just too many people who continue to overcome diverse circumstances.

An old adage still remains true—"If you think you can or if you think you can’t, you are probably right."

Raymond Albert "Ray" Kroc was considered to be an aging high school dropout who failed at almost everything he ever did. At age 52, he decided to try again and developed what is now the McDonald’s empire.

Sam Walton opened his first store (a Ben Franklin variety store) in a small town of about 7,000 people. It was losing money and he bought it with $5,000 of his own money and $20,000, which he borrowed. Within five years, he had reached his goal of turning a profit, only to be refused renewal on his lease and forced to sell. His next venture was to open another store, Walton’s Five and Dime. This was the beginning of the greatest retail success story in history. Sam Walton created Wal*Mart, the largest chain of discount stores in America.

There are many other examples of individuals who overcame seemingly insurmountable obstacles to achieve worldwide acclaim, of leaders who took their companies to positions of global dominance in the face of fierce competition. There are even more examples of those who gave up, threw in the towel, and failed. It’s easy to blame others, or the environment, or the economy, or to rationalize ‘why’ it wasn’t their fault. If circumstances are not the determining factor, what is?

Too many people hold themselves in lower self-esteem than the actual facts warrant. Bad moments and past mistakes tend to make a deeper impression on our memories than our past successes. Many people tend to think more often of where and how they have failed, rather than where and how they have succeeded. Thus, many people tend to view themselves as less capable than they actually are. Another problem is that many have never learned the importance of self-love. The awkwardness with which some people accept compliments illustrates this fact. They often allow minor imperfections to color their view of themselves, resulting in a low self-image. To build a self-image on anything less than self-love, is to build on a hopelessly weak foundation.

With these thoughts in mind, begin to imagine the difference you would make in enhancing the self-image of others if you thought more frequently in terms of their strengths and implemented a system and recognition program focused on their achievements, rather than on mistakes and failures.

How much easier would it be to implement a change process if everyone viewed himself or herself in a positive light?

What would happen to productivity if everyone thought more in terms of their unlimited potential rather than their limitations? You could have a powerful influence on the growth and achievement of everyone with whom you work!

How Do You Develop Peak Performers?

A financial analyst once asked Herb Kelleher, Co Founder of Southwest Airlines “... if he was afraid of losing control of his organization." Herb told him that he never had control, and he never wanted it. In his words, "If you create an environment where the people truly participate, you don’t need control. They know what needs to be done and they do it.”

High performance people see things not only as they are, but also as they could be. This is the first step in creating an environment and structure where people truly participate and genuinely believe they are integral to the organization’s success. When people expand their focus on the possible, they begin to seek new and better ways of doing things. They realize they have the capacity to shape their lives rather than accept things as they are. Leadership is the norm, not the exception. Everyone is encouraged to examine situations and lead in response to them. Previous habits of “doing it this way because we have always done it this way” give way to new attitudes, innovative thinking, and process improvements. The philosophy “if it isn’t broke don’t fix it,” gives way to “regardless of how good it is, we can make it better.”

Mentoring people to higher levels of performance requires that you establish the conditions within which performance serves both the organization’s as well as the individual’s best interests. The structure and culture of the organization must support the efforts of the individuals. Everyone needs to realize that his or her best interests and personal successes are served by the success of the entire organization. If the environment is not conducive to supporting and guiding people to new levels of achievement, new skills and behaviors will not thrive. You cannot lead people to higher levels of achievement if the structures do not support the behavior.

The way people think leads to what they do. What people do leads to results. If you want to improve results, it makes sense to improve the way people think. Significant achievement is not likely without change, and change in behavior starts with a change in thinking.

You have no doubt heard the expression, “We are creatures of habit.” There is considerable truth to that statement, for almost all that we do and most of what we think is the result of habits that have been formed during the course of a lifetime. Much of what we do in a 24-hour period demands little conscious thought because we have developed habits that help us accomplish a number of things – on auto-pilot. Just as much of our behavior is habit, so are most of our attitudes. Attitudes are habits of thought. We have thought the same way about something for so long that it is now a habit. While some habits are useful in preventing us from having to consciously figure out the mechanics each time we confront a familiar situation, many habits keep people from stretching their capabilities and trying new, inventive, and possibly better ideas or techniques. Behavior and performance are likened to attitudes. If you want to improve performance, you have to improve the habits of thought that improve performance.

How are the “we have always done it this way” attitudes and habits holding your organization back from the success you need to achieve?

Leading People into High Performing Roles

Continuing on with my topic of the week, on performance, let me discuss the various stages of becoming a high performer in this 2nd article (here is the 1st article if you haven't already read it.)

As we become more specific about our goals and begin to acquire more knowledge and skills in developing others, our chances of success will greatly increase. 

The more clear we are on what we want, the more power we will have to achieve it. We all have the means within us to free ourselves from the constraints of early negative conditioning. Attitude change is a result of internal understanding and acceptance.

Once you are able to begin the process of helping people develop positive and possibility attitudes, you create even more possibilities. It’s rather like knowledge and learning. Generally, the more you know and learn, the more you realize there is to learn. The more you focus on possibilities, the more possibilities seem to be possible. High expectation and positive attitudes lead to high performance. High performance leads to higher expectations. Individuals and teams go through four stages of development before they become high performers.

Stage 1: In the beginning, you may find that as people move into uncharted waters and begin to perform tasks and make decisions that are new, they will need a great deal of attention from you. Anytime there is a need for new knowledge or apprehension about the outcomes, people will require direction. Many will have to be shown how to perform a particular task. Others will need explanation, information, and instruction. Most will still look to you for decisions and priorities. Your behavior at this stage should be highly directive. You will need to provide knowledge and model behavior to help people learn, understand, and develop competence. This requires time and patience. That outcome, however, is more time for you because as they become competent, they are more willing to perform functions that once took your time.

Stage 2: As people become more competent in their roles and their attitudes are more positive, the need for highly directive supervision and instruction diminishes. Your role then becomes that of a coach. Coaches still provide direction, suggestions, and input, but begin to elicit more feedback, and decisions are frequently made jointly. As confidence and competence grow, people will begin to make suggestions and provide you with input and ideas. Your behavior needs to be supportive and focused on mutual goal setting, high recognition, and praise for accomplishments. This two-way process creates a tremendous opportunity to lead people to even higher levels of performance.

Stage 3: As people become more confident about their ability to perform their jobs successfully, you can empower them to make decisions that influence the outcomes. Delegate authority to solve problems and make improvements. Enhance personal responsibility and accountability. Create additional opportunities. Be highly supportive but less directive. People need to feel like they have control over those factors which affect their destiny. As they control more of their activities, you can spend less time managing people and processes and spend more time growing the company. Developing people has immense benefits for the future.

Stage 4: At this final stage, people want to do their jobs and they have developed the competence and confidence to know they can. They can be counted upon to make decisions, implement change, achieve their business goals, and positively impact the success of the organization. They will require very little supervision from you. Provide support, but refrain from over managing that which they know how to do. Instead, their greatest need will be your leadership. They will look to you to provide the direction, the values, and the behaviors that they can emulate to help build their divisions, departments, and people. They will seek new and better ways to do business.

Seek out potential leads in your organization. Create an environment, develop the personal skills, and nurture the innovation that can ensure your competitive advantage. Meeting the challenges that you will face tomorrow will require you to drive leadership qualities throughout your organization because it will require everyone to see beyond traditional methods and expected outcomes. 

The future belongs to those who create it!

How to Determine and Improve the Performance Gaps?

Human capital is a top priority in today’s global economy.

In fact many businesses are faced with the reality that they need to get more results through smaller and perhaps more fragmented teams. As your employees have added and shifted roles, positions, and responsibilities, how do you know you have the right people in the right positions in order to maximize your business efforts and outcomes?

The reality is, in some cases you do have the right team members in right places, and in some cases you probably guessed wrong, as we all have. Companies forced to reorganize made quick decisions resulting in people landing in the wrong roles.

Likewise, companies that have experienced intense growth have ended up with similar results. Diagnostic assessments can help you to determine performance gaps and help your company to effectively understand and align the talents, behaviors, and motivators of every employee. Having the right employee in the right position is as critical to the individual’s success as it is to the success of the company.

The first step in bridging performance gaps is for management to be committed to a people development process for employees. It should be based on the skills, attitudes, and behaviors necessary to do their jobs successfully. If the size of the organization is large enough it can be HR implemented, but the objectives and strategies of developing employees and how those employees are going to help drive results needs to be driven by management.

After the commitment is in place and the objectives have been identified, diagnostic assessments can help specifically and individually determine performance gaps, as developmental issues will be employee specific. Assessments can also be the secret tool for creating skill development as well attitudinal and behavioral improvement while eliminating resistance to change.

When working with clients, we focus diagnostically on the whole person as defined by these three key areas:

§  WHAT natural talents do your employees possess? How do they make decisions and interact with the world around them, as well as how do they perceive themselves?

§  WHY are your employees motivated to use their natural talents, based on their personal motivators and drivers? Everyone has their own unique mix of personal drivers and motivators that help guide them toward success. Understanding what really drives a person is a crucial part of success.

§  HOW do your employees prefer to use their natural talents, based on their preferred behavioral style? Since each individual has their own unique preferences and habits for how they like to behave, this understanding is crucial when working with team members, as a leader or manager, or in an environment that requires conflict resolution.

Establishing new behaviors requires the employee feel able to adopt the behavior and feel comfortable doing so. A well-designed people development process focused on objectives using diagnostic assessments drives long-term change. We consistently see 80-100% in adaptable change after the completion of a development process with sustainable results that remain a year later.