Michael Lee Stallard

How do you impart values to the people you are responsible for leading, including your children? Recently I had the opportunity to watch a leader who does this well. I’d like to share three critical actions that I believe are necessary to impart your values and I think you will be inspired by and learn from his example.

1. Communicate Your Values, Upfront and Often

Leaders need to lead courageously by telling people what they believe. Ted (not his real name) has developed a small, pocket-sized, laminated card that describes his values and has given the card to all of the employees of his company.  The contents on the card define what behavior Ted expects of himself and of the people he is responsible for leading. Each morning a one-page sheet entitled “Connect” is circulated throughout Ted’s company that includes a story about employees living out one of the values.  Work groups meet briefly each morning to review the Connect sheet.

One morning I attended a session that Ted holds each week with his leadership team and a select number of potential leaders.  There were about 30 people in attendance. Ted stood upfront where he spoke and facilitated the session.  During the time the group discussed one chapter in a leadership book they were reading together. About one-third of the 60-90 minutes session is set aside for small group deliberations.  The material they covered the day of my visit was on the value that is most important to Ted: caring about people.  Studying great books is an ideal way to learn and grow, and to bring the team together.  This shared practice also helps maintain awareness of and reinforce the importance of Ted’s values.

2. Live Your Values Daily

It is said that values are caught not taught.  I don’t agree.  Values are taught and caught.  Both are critical. Read more »

Joe Nocera, one of America’s best business journalists, describes in his column today the real reason HP fired its CEO Mark Hurd.  The bottom line is that Hurd managed with fear and his style was unsustainable.  Stated another way, he was focused on developing task excellence but failed to develop relationship excellence the way that we describe it in our recent Leader to Leader Journal article entitled, “To Boost Performance, Connect with the Core.” Connecting with employees boosts employee engagement, alignment, productivity and innovation.  Pushing hard to achieve task excellence may work for a while but absent developing relationship excellence, task excellence is unsustainable.

Two stories in The New York Times this weekend reminded me that good often blooms from gloom.  In “Detroit Goes from Gloom to Economic Bright Spot,” Bill Vlasic writes that the American automobile manufacturers are emerging from a near-death experience as leaner, more grounded, humbler, and more long-term oriented organizations.  In a different field altogether, that of men’s professional basketball, Scottie Pippen was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame yesterday.  Read about it in “Stepping Out of Jordan’s Shadow, Pippen to Enter Hall.”   I was inspired to learn about Pippen’s remarkable climb from humble origins and how he came back from an embarrassing episode that occurred years ago when he refused to play in a crucial game. Pippen learned from his mistake then moved on to become an even better player, leader and human being.

There is real wisdom in these stories.  As human beings, we are imperfect.  Good times often puff us up and develop hubris in our character (i.e., over-confidence, arrogance and the negative aspects of pride).  This applies to organizations as well as to individuals.  Tough times, on the other hand, as hard as they may be, are opportunities to develop the humility we need to thrive over the long-term.

How does humility help us thrive?  When we are humble, we are more likely to seek, listen to and consider the opinions and ideas of others.  Facing difficulties, we are more likely to reach out to God and to our family and friends for help rather than see ourselves as self-sufficient.  In a state of humility, we are more likely to develop a number of other character strengths such as kindness, graciousness, gratitude, patience and perseverance or fortitude.

Are you going through tough times?  If so, I suggest the following:

1. Devote time each day to prayer. When I pray, I like to focus on thanking God for the many blessings in my life and I pray for the needs of others as well as for wisdom in the important decisions I must make.

2. Make a list of things for which you are grateful. My wife’s list might include M&Ms, the color red, video chatting with our daughters, reading the newspaper in her pajamas, and having survived both breast and advanced ovarian cancer.  Counting our blessings gives us perspective.  The negativism of today can influence us so that, without our even being aware, we get caught up in it (a condition that sociologists describe as “emotional contagion”).

3. Spend time each day conversing and connecting with family members, friends and colleagues at work. Find out what’s going on in their lives.  If you face important decisions, talk them over with others to gain a balanced perspective.  This is a huge energizer for me (and I’m somewhat introverted).

4. Regularly reach out to help or encourage someone in need. Serving someone else is one of the best ways to lift your own spirit and the spirit of the people around you.  Just try it and you’ll see!

I know from experience that these four simple practices can make a difference in your attitude and behavior.  They will help you persevere through tough times, after which you will most likely emerge even better than you were before.  While these practices may or may not make you economically wealthier, they will most certainly bring you a wealth of even greater value.

A trusted friend and former colleague of mine at Morgan Stanley recently praised Andy Chan’s work at Wake Forest University to help students understand and develop character, then discover their passion and a career path to match it. Here’s a great article about Chan’s work from the Chronicle of Higher Education entitled “Finished College. Now What?”

Chan’s work fits well with our mission to develop strength of character and connection in organizations (you can learn why we believe character strengths are so important for individual, organizational and societal health in the Connection Culture Manifesto that was published by changethis.com). I’ll be learning more and writing future blog posts about Andy Chan and Wake Forest’s work so stay tuned.