Who’s the boss in your organization? Take a moment to answer that in your head. Is it you? Is it someone else? If you answered yourself or someone else, I would submit you would be wrong. Oh sure, you might make decisions, solve problems, schedule employees, provide direction etc., but that makes you a supervisor, a manager, a director, maybe the CEO, but the boss, it’s not you. Let me explain and why it’s important to understand.
As a child, have you ever said, or heard it said, “You’re not the boss of me!”. Well you were right then, and still are today. No one is the boss of you. You see, your “boss” is your values. Ideally, in the workplace and other organizations we may belong to, our values are aligned with the organizational values, written or unwritten. Let’s say one of your core values is Family. When you are faced with a decision, stay late at the office and wrap up the loose ends of a task, or, leave to be back home in time to attend your little girls dance recital, chances are you will leave the office on time. Who’s the boss? Your core values. On the flip side, if your core value is tenacity, or career success, you may instead choose to stay late and put the task to bed. Your daughter will understand, besides, your spouse will be there. Again, who’s the boss?
So, let’s take it to the office. Who’s the boss? Depends. Written or unwritten? Unwritten, the boss, and as such decisions employees make, will most likely be driven by individual personal values. However, they can also be driven by the unwritten and assumed organizational core values. Let’s say the unwritten core value is, “Good Enough”. The “bosses” guidance therefore becomes, “Take a short cut here”, “Eh, just fudge the numbers a little, no big deal”, “Just submit the report as is”. Of course your supervisor didn’t say those things to you, but they are the unwritten values of the organization. But let’s say your supervisor/manager did indeed say that to you. What do you think, “the boss”, is saying to them? Take a shortcut, fudge the numbers, submit the report. They’re doing what a supervisor does and simply relaying the bosses message.
So why leave it to chance? Why not instead give serious thought to what your organizations core values are? Create an environment where your organization’s core values are the boss. We already know they drive or influence our decisions. Let them drive and influence behavior so it doesn’t matter if the supervisor is around. It doesn’t matter who the supervisor is. It doesn’t matter if there is a change in leadership. The organizational core values, “the boss”, when done correctly, will create an environment where every decision, every action, by every employee is in sync – regardless of the people around.
Closing thoughts: Last month’s article was about how to create the foundation of a value based culture by discussing them and visiting them often and consistently with one particular technique. (If you are a new subscriber, or you missed the last one,
Click Here to read “Creating a Value Based Culture”.)
Here are a few other ideas. You facilitate, but . . .
1.
Let the boss be part of the employee annual review connecting performance and behaviors to the core values. “Shaunnette, you’ve been doing an incredible job this year with your attention to detail and your pursuit of excellence in all you do. For example, the ACME project…”
2.
Let the boss be the one to recognize employee’s performance and behaviors when they are aligned with the core values. “Garrett, thank you for the excellent job on the ACME project. I really appreciate the effort you put forth in not just being a part of the team but going the extra mile and always willing to step up to the plate and assist others. Without your…”
3.
Do you have anxiety when it comes to employee discipline? Step out of the way and let the boss do the disciplining. “Sam, just last week at our staff meeting, Cindy shared our core value of Integrity First and the importance of doing things right. This is the third time you’ve been caught misrepresenting your department’s numbers…”
4.
Having conflict with a co-worker, invite the boss to the conversation. “Susan, we may disagree, however, you know one of our core values is respect. Why is it you feel it necessary to…”
Why is it important? When we are faced with a decision or taking action, we want ourselves and our employees to lean to the side of our shared and aligned organizational core values. See, it doesn’t matter, what the spouse might think, or even what the supervisor might think, your values, when aligned with the organizational core values, “the boss”, will dictate, or at least influence your decision. How is, “the boss” engaged in your organization?
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Extraordinary Leaders have extraordinary character. With extraordinary character they are not afraid.
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Next time: Core Value Alignment
