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KEYZINE: An e-zine for LEADERS:
ABOUT THE PEOPLE PART OF
BUSINESS
Volume
73, April 2007
Publisher: © Key Associates, 2007
ISSN #
1545-8873
http://www.mkkey.com/
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This Issue: "Principled Leadership"
Contents:
SURFACING AND ARTICULATING
THE VALUES OF THE ORGANIZATION.
BUILDING A CULTURE BASED ON THOSE
SHARED VALUES AND BELIEFS.
CHARACTER, HONOR, AND TEAMWORK,
APPLIED TO ACTION.
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MAINTAINING YOURSELF AS A LEADER
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Principles are "values translated into action."
Principles serve as guardrails, the guidelines for
behavior. Principles translate to practices.
Where principles are strong, politics and
personality do not rule.
Your job as a leader is to serve as the translator,
the role model of the organization's core beliefs
and principles. People instinctively trust
organizations and leaders whose character is
centered upon good principles.
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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
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How can you tell who's
not principle-centered?
Stephen Covey (1992) talks about "alternate
organizational centers"--core attachments to
profit, cash flow, the owner, policy, program,
the competition, image, technology. He describes
these as flawed, since leaders will over-react or
underact to the events of the day. The security of
the organization is unsettled. Life is seen as a
zero-sum game, so all are controlled by the
success or failure of the competition. To delight
in the failure of others is to be controlled by it.
Principles, on the other hand, promote security,
wisdom, guidance, and the power to act (p. 24).
How would you characterize the Principled Leader?
I asked this very question last evening of Jim Autry
(see reference below on his new book), on a
Heartland Vision-Holder Call.
He spoke in the
frame of Servant Leadership, outlining these
characteristics:
* Authenticity
* Vulnerability
* Presence (being present with values)
* Acceptance
* Being useful
How do these principles translate to behavior?
Let's ask another author. Victor D. Lopez, J.D., Esq.
(http://satorisystem.com/03152005.html)
offers these ideas. In his experience, principled
leaders share the following:
1. They put the interests of the institution they serve
above their own.
2. They understand that character is defined by the small
acts they perform when nobody is looking.
3. They recognize that respect must be earned and reinforced
over time but can be lost in an instant.
4. They promote their people, not themselves.
5. They take responsibility for their failures and the failures
of the group they lead.
6. They share credit for their successes with those who
made them possible.
7. They are consistent and predictable in making decisions
and in exercising their discretion.
8. They strive to do what is right rather than what is expedient,
regardless of the consequences to themselves.
9. They do not fear making unpopular decisions or clearly
communicating their rationale for making such decisions.
10. They serve only institutions that do not require them to compromise
their principles.
What if I see colleagues whose behavior does not fit with our principles?
Confront the problems directly, candidly, but kindly (see ezine
Volume
41, August 2004 - On Feedback). Most of us avoid
confrontation, fearing lack of civility. But simply asking
a question, "I see this, and I believe we agreed on that,"
then listening, honors the person. As a principled leader,
strive to be direct and open, in a way that is courteous and
respectful to your colleagues.
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EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES
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Webinars on Principled Leadership
http://www.leaderladder.com/TrainingResources/LearningSolutions/tabid/56/Default.aspx
A definition and a download on Principled Leadership
http://cuttingthroughthegrey.typepad.com/cutting_through_the_grey/files/Principled_Leadership_article2.pdf
Teamwork and Principled Leadership
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ovc/publications/bulletins/mcwedvs2000/pg5.html
Key Associates offers seminars in Leadership & Integrity
http://www.mkkey.com/courses2/LeadershipCourse.htm
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OTHER USEFUL WEBSITES
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Guide for development of a personal mission statement
http://principledleadership.com/
Developing Principled Leadership
http://www.getfeedback.net/principledleadership.php
Former Key-zines on related topics:
Volume 13, April 2002
- Trust & Integrity
Volume 34,
January 2004 - Ethics
Volume
41, August 2004 - Feedback
Volume
54, September 2005 - Minding Manners
Volume 61, April
2006 - On Purpose
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ARTICLES/PUBLICATIONS
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Autry, James. VisionHolder Call,
Heartland Circle Journal,
April 26, 2007.
Autry, James & Roy, Peter. The
Book of Hard
Choices: How to Make the Right Decisions at
Work and Keep Your Self-Respect. Morgan
Road Books, 2006.
Bennis, Warren (foreword), Rhode, Deborah L.
Moral
Leadership: The Theory and Practice of
Power, Judgment and Policy (J-B Warren Bennis Series),
Jossey-Bass, 2006.
Covey, Stephen R. Principle-Centered
Leadership.
Free Press, 1992.
Donnithorne, Larry. The
West Point Way of Leadership.
Currency, 1993.
Hawkins, John L. Leadership
As a Lifestyle: The
Path to Personal Integrity and Positive Influence.
Executive Excellence Publishing, 2001.
London, Manuel. Principled
Leadership and
Business Diplomacy: Values-based Strategies
for Leadership Development. Quorum Books, 1999.
Maak, Thomas & Pless, Nichola M.
Responsible
Leadership. Routledge, 2006.
Rosenbach, William E. & Taylor, Robert L. (Eds.).
Contemporary
Issues in Leadership. Westview Press,
2006.
Sashkin, Marshall & Sashkin, Mollly G.
Leadership
That Matters: The Critical Factors
for Making Difference in People's Lives and
Organizations' Success. Berrett-Koehler, 2003.
Vaughan, David J. Statesman
and Saint: The
Principled Politics of William Wilberforce. Highland
Books, 2001.
