No matter which executives we coach, and no matter the level of their position in an organization, we always begin by both assessing them and encouraging them towards what we see as the fundamentals of great leadership.
First we focus on WHO great leaders are. They model what we call the Three C’s of great leaders. They are Competent, which answers the question, “Does this leader know what they are talking about and do they get results”? They model the right Character, which answers the question, “Can I trust this person and do they uphold the right values”? And they exhibit the right Chemistry, which answers, “Does this person care about me”? Imagine a team of leaders where 100% of their followers reply with a resounding “YES” when asked if their leaders modeled these traits, and you will understand why these companies have an enviable work environment.
Second, we address WHAT great leaders do. We call this our Leadership Maxim, which states that great leaders do three things. They SET EXPECTATIONS – clearly and thoroughly. They INSPECT WHAT THEY EXPECT – with positive intent to try to catch folks doing the right things and affirming their progress and successes. And finally, they GET WHAT THEY MODEL AND TOLERATE – there is no culture of “optionalism” in the organization, and they model the same principles and results themselves. We have found that most organizations fail right out of the chute, in that the expectations are not clearly defined or communicated. When a leadership team has 100% of its members exhibiting the Three C’s, and also leading according to the Leadership Maxim, the result is a formidable organization that has a much better chance of determining and achieving its goals and fulfilling their vision.
Jack Welch former CEO of General Electric created an amazing culture by assessing people and making decisions listed below.:
1) People who deliver on commitments and share the new values—retain and reward these people;
2) People who don’t meet commitments and don’t share the new values—these people must go;
3) People who sometimes fail to meet their commitments, but who share the values—give them a second chance;
4) People who meet commitments but don’t share the values—they must change or go, because their results aren’t worth the price.
Leaders are responsible for creating the culture of their company and every decision and behavior of the leader reinforces the acceptable culture.
by Bob Rockwell
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