Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Values should you expect but will never hear from leadership!
Many leadersmanagers over the next month or so are preparing to deliver speeches that champion ideals. It is a common tendency to draw up a set of values and present them simultaneously to all of the key players at some annual meeting or specially convened strategic planning meeting or retreat without regard to how this ceremonial practice may run counter to their goals...
An enterprise may be made worse, not better, by pretending to advocate a set of standards its not prepared to live by. I suspect many in the audience will look upwards to see if those guys are truly serious before they commit themselves to a cause.
Having been an IT employee for the last twenty five years across many organizations, I have yet to find a set of values that remains uncompromisable. We live in a world where waivers are the norm. Many people continue to avoid improvement simply because it isn't required by their leadership. Have you noticed the message is finely tuned but otherwise lacks the substance of bi-directional commitment?
Below are some values I have outlined that are notoriously absent from the majority of the speeches I have heard:
If your CIO were to incorporate these phrases and truly meant it, would that be a dream job...
| | View blog reactionsAn enterprise may be made worse, not better, by pretending to advocate a set of standards its not prepared to live by. I suspect many in the audience will look upwards to see if those guys are truly serious before they commit themselves to a cause.
Having been an IT employee for the last twenty five years across many organizations, I have yet to find a set of values that remains uncompromisable. We live in a world where waivers are the norm. Many people continue to avoid improvement simply because it isn't required by their leadership. Have you noticed the message is finely tuned but otherwise lacks the substance of bi-directional commitment?
Below are some values I have outlined that are notoriously absent from the majority of the speeches I have heard:
- We will require, not just encourage, everyone to learn and develop new skills. The enterprise accepts its obligation to help each individual achieve this.
We will minimize the amount of energy expended on tactical/project-oriented work and will invest a significant amount of time each year going forward in things that will pay off in the future.
We will select, evaluate and remunerate those in managerial roles based primarily on the success of their group, rather than on their individual performance.
We will, individually and collectively, operate with a stewardship mentality toward our junior people, accepting the obligation to coach, mentor and develop those who report to us
If your CIO were to incorporate these phrases and truly meant it, would that be a dream job...
