Every leader should know what the pieces are that compose their decision making, their commitments, and their responses to any given situation. The framework which we create to guide our actions throughout the week is the strategy that we believe will offer the most transparency to ourselves and our constituents and create an environment that demonstrates consistency rather than volatility.
In order to create our leadership philosophies, we need to know what the elements of our leaders are. An example of this breakdown would be separating your philosophy into the categories which are most important and relevant to you and your organization. I’m going to offer eight example categories and ask questions that I hope you take the time to answer in order to build out your own.
These eight categories are a priority, commitment, definition of leadership, business values, operating principles, personal idiosyncrasies, expectations, and non-negotiables.
Think about leadership. What is your definition of leadership? How would you define what leadership is and what it means to you? In all of our lexicons, we hold baggage associated with the definitions of words that define what we see when we experience a word. By setting down into writing your own definition you offer insight and transparency into what people can expect from you as a leader.
What are your business values? What are the things that determine your strategic planning and goal setting for the future? Business values build a core around what you will bring to the table. They articulate the driving forces behind growth and change and allow for a health check in how reality matches up against the conceptual and concrete values that build your engagement with your organization.
And what would your operating principles be? Sandler Trainer Brad McDonald was a commanding officer for a submarine and used a series of operating principles in order to ensure that he and his subordinates lived and worked under an intentional framework. This framework both demanded and created consistency within the organization and ensured continued success for himself and his crew.
Operating principles determine how you will behave as a leader and you should create and know what your version of these seven principles looks like—regardless of how much leading you do. The standards which you hold to yourself can be forgiven if they are not grounded and actual and by implementing a set of principles into your commitments and interactions you can improve and grow with determination and intention. Brad’s operating principles are as follows:
1. Be approachable and in control of yourself. If you can’t control yourself, how will the crew believe you can control the ship in an emergency or in combat?
2. Be consistent. Inconsistency demonstrates double-standards and enables victimhood.
3. Be fair and just. There is a difference between expectations and standards.
4. Set the Standards. The commanding officer sets their standards and determines what level of accountability they can expect and maintain.
5. Continuously supply energy and enthusiasm for whatever is to be done. We choose whether or not the grinding and perpetual work bear down on us or whether we learn to enjoy and thrive in the environments that manage our success.
6. Be yourself, but always be the commanding officer. You are yourself at all times, but within your organization, you must maintain and remember what your role is.
7. Make the Troops Proud that you are their captain. You determine the level of commitment that your constituents bring to the table.
What are your personal idiosyncrasies? What are the unique things about your personality which can be triggers that often lead to frustration and negative feelings or experiences? Brad would say, “Don’t ask me on Monday about my weekend.” What we want to overall communicate is how we engage, how we are programmed, how we can help other’s maximize our strengths and weaknesses, and how we can better understand who we are and how we process things in order to guarantee and maintain a productive engagement and relationship.
What about expectations? Remember that expectations are a two-way street built out of what you can expect of me and what I expect of you. What you do in your actions communicates your commitment to your own expectations. If you expect people to be on-time and prepared for the day, they can expect you to be on-time and prepared for meetings. Our expectations must be built out personal actions and promises.
Commitment is a largely, and rightly, associated with expectations. Commitment is built out of what your commitment is to yourself, to the company, and your constituents commitment to you, and to the company. In my own statement I write, “I give you permission to bring to my attention when I am not being self-aware in a professional and open manner, keeping in mind that I like to feel “okay” like everybody else.” Other examples might be, “I will never ask you to commit more to our business than you see from me” or, “I need your feedback, positive and negative. I will never chastise you for bringing me bad news, even if it's about me. I will provide you with positive, and when necessary, negative feedback.”
And what about our non-negotiables? These are the standards of conduct to which there are no exceptions. Our non-negotiables are a clear iteration of what is a line in the sand, and when crossed, has immediate and severe consequences. Our non-negotiables communicate exactly when and where we will know there are a problem and a breakdown of what our commitment is to our business and industry and where our paths will diverge.
Finally, are the priorities that we have. Every leader must make it clear activities and functions must be done above all else. We track and manage the behaviors that we do in organizations that regularly achieve the success they expect and desire. In order to best understand our priorities, we need to have a complete sense of what brings revenue in and where we best drive fruitful endeavors in our organization. In order to rank these things, we must have a clear view of what they are.
So, what about you? What other elements belong in your leadership philosophy? What elements need to be removed? Reach out to me if you want feedback or wish to have a conversation about how this applies to your organization or yourself.
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