The Culture Engine E-Book

S. Chris Edmonds

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Fachliteratur
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 328

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2014

Beschreibung

An organizational "North Star," codifying valued behaviors for optimal performance The Culture Engine shows leaders how to create a high performing, values aligned culture through the creation of an organizational constitution. With practical step-by-step guidance, readers learn how to define their organization's culture, delineate the behaviors that contribute to greater performance and greater engagement, and draft a document that codifies those behaviors into a constitution that guides behavior towards an ideal: a safe, inspiring workplace. The discussion focuses on people, including who should be involved at the outset and how to engage employees from start to finish, while examples of effective constitutions provide guidance toward drafting a document that can actualize an organization's potential. Culture drives everything that happens in an organization day to day, including focus, priorities, and the treatment of employees and customers. A great culture drives great performance, and can help attract and retain great talent. But a great culture isn't something that evolves naturally. The Culture Engine is a guide to strategically planning a culture by compiling the company's guiding principles and behaviors into an organizational constitution. * Decide which behaviors and attitudes are desired in the organization * Secure leader commitment to planning, drafting, and implementing the document * Learn the most effective way to socialize the draft statement and get everyone on board * Model desired behaviors to boost employee engagement throughout the process Organizational culture is not an amorphous thing - it comes down from the top, inspired and exemplified by the leadership. It can steer a company up or down, keep it on mission or force it off-course. For an organization to fulfill its potential, the culture must be on-point, truly reflecting the heart of the company from leaders to team members across the company. The Culture Engine helps leaders define the playing field, pushing performance to the next level.

Leseprobe

CONTENTS

Cover

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Foreword

Acknowledgments

Introduction

How Did I Learn about Organizational Constitutions?

How Is the Book Structured?

Chapter 1: What Is an Organizational Constitution and Why Do You Need One?

What Is the Condition of Your Team or Company's Culture, Right Now?

The Concept of Perfection

How Civil Is Your Workplace?

Who Is in Charge of Culture?

Create a Pocket of Excellence

An Organizational Constitution Is a “Disruptive Technology” in Your Workplace

The Performance-Values Matrix

The Costs of Measuring Only Performance

How Does an Organizational Constitution Help Your Company, Department, or Team?

Client Impact

Your Leadership Legacy

Chapter 2: It Starts with You

Clarify Your Personal Purpose

Clarify Your Personal Values and Aligned Behaviors

Define Your Values

Add Observable, Tangible, Measurable Behaviors to Each Value

Your Values, Definitions, and Behaviors

Formalize Your Leadership Philosophy

Key Elements (Present Day)

Desirable Outcomes (Future State)

Live Well to Serve and Lead Well

Servant Leadership Is the Foundation

Notes

Chapter 3: Clarify Your Organization's Purpose

What Is an Effective Purpose Statement?

Communicating Your Company's Reason for Being

What Is Your Team or Company's Actual Purpose?

Humans Are Drawn to and Inspired by Great Purpose

Crafting a Compelling, Inspiring Purpose Statement

Notes

Chapter 4: Define Values in Behavioral Terms

Why Do You Need Values Defined in Behavioral Terms?

Your Beliefs May Not Be Aligned

Build Your Values Foundation on Behaviors

Step-by-Step Guidelines for Creating Valued Behaviors

Define Your Values

Include Observable, Tangible, and Measurable Behaviors for Each Value

Your Values, Definitions, and Behaviors

Chapter 5: Outline Strategies and Goals for the Coming Fiscal Year

Five-Point Strategic Planning Wheel

Who Is in Charge of Communicating Your Business Strategies and Goals?

Measure the Right Things

Build a Draft of Your Team or Company's Strategic Plan and Goals

Chapter 6: Your Organizational Constitution Must Be LIVED

Engage All Leaders in Your Organizational Constitution's Implementation

Describe the Way

Model the Way

Align the Way

Contribution Management instead of Performance Management

The Values-Aligned Tribe Culture at WD-40 Company

Chapter 7: Gathering Formal Feedback on Valued Behaviors

Is it Responsibility or Accountability?

Crafting Your Custom Values Survey

Leaders Must Be Rated on Their Values Alignment First

Chapter 8: Dealing with Resistance

What Does Resistance Look Like?

How Must a Leader Address Resistance?

Chapter 9: Hiring for Values Alignment

How Do You Hire Today?

Before the Hire—Recruiting, Interviewing, and Assessing

After the Hire—Orientation and Integration

What if the New Hire Just Doesn't Fit?

Chapter 10: Don't Leave Your Organizational Culture to Chance

Long-Term Alignment versus Short-Term Results

Scoring Your Culture Effectiveness Assessment

Implementing an Organizational Constitution Is an Ongoing Project

Keep Me Informed

About the Author

Index

End User License Agreement

List of Illustrations

Figure 1.1

Figure 1.2

Figure 1.3

Figure 1.4

Figure 1.5

Figure 1.6

Figure 5.1

Guide

Cover

Table of Contents

Begin Reading

Chapter 1

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the culture engine

A Framework for Driving Results, Inspiring Your Employees, and Transforming Your Workplace

S. Chris Edmonds

Cover image: © iStock.com/aluxum (sky); © iStock.com/mechanic (engine)

Cover design: Michael J. Freeland

Copyright © 2014 by Edmonds Training and Consulting LLC. All rights reserved.

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.

Published simultaneously in Canada.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, [phone], fax [phone], or on the web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, [phone], fax [phone], or online at www.wiley.com/go/permissions.

Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for damages arising herefrom.

For general information about our other products and services, please contact our Customer Care Department within the United States at [phone], outside the United States at [phone] or fax [phone].

Wiley publishes in a variety of print and electronic formats and by print-on-demand. Some material included with standard print versions of this book may not be included in e-books or in print-on-demand. If this book refers to media such as a CD or DVD that is not included in the version you purchased, you may download this material at http://booksupport.wiley.com. For more information about Wiley products, visit www.wiley.com.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:

Edmonds, S. Chris, 1952-

The culture engine : a framework for driving results, inspiring your employees, and transforming your workplace / S. Chris Edmonds.

pages cm

Includes index.

ISBN 978-1-118-94732-6 (hardback : alk. paper) ISBN 978-1-118-94733-3 (ebk);

ISBN 978-1-118-94734-0 (ebk)

1. Employee motivation. 2. Strategic planning. 3. Leadership. I. Title.

HF5549.5.M63E334 2014

658.3'14–dc23

2014023100

Dedication

To my wife, Diane, and my family (especially Mom, Karin, and Greg, and Andy and Dana), who keep me on track with coaching, humor, and love.

This book is also dedicated to:

My best (and worst) bosses, who taught me more about the impact of values in the workplace than any professor or any class could have.

My culture clients, who accept my coaching (and prodding and pushing) with grace and enthusiasm as I help them create safe, inspiring work environments.

Special gratitude goes to Jerry Nutter (1938–2012), my greatest boss ever, who taught me volumes about values, culture, leadership, and workplace dignity.

Foreword

I have been a big fan of Chris Edmonds for over 20 years—ever since I coaxed him into leaving the Federal Reserve Bank and joining our consulting partner group. Chris has been and continues to be one of our most requested consultants. One of the main reasons for this has been his deep interest in helping organizations produce high-performing cultures. I know few people who are better qualified to talk about this subject. Why? After you have read The Culture Engine, the answer will become clear: Chris understands what constitutes a culture that drives results and what it takes to make that culture come alive.

As a student and proponent of servant leadership, I love this book. When I mention servant leadership to many organizational leaders, they think I'm talking about the inmates running the prison, pleasing everybody, or some religious movement. What they don't understand is that there are two aspects of effective leadership. The first is the strategic leadership aspect of servant leadership. Leadership is about going somewhere. If your people don't know where you want them to go, there is little chance they will get there. That's why Chris spends a great deal of time helping you develop an organizational constitution that outlines your team's or company's purpose, values, strategies, and goals.

While there should be widespread involvement in the development of your organizational constitution, the responsibility for making sure you have one lies with top management. Once everybody is clear on your business purpose and values, the next aspect of effective leadership kicks in—living according to your organizational constitution. That involves turning the traditional hierarchical pyramid upside down to emphasize that everyone is responsible—able to respond— for living the constitution and getting the desired results while modeling the organization's valued behaviors. Now top management becomes responsive cheerleaders for actualizing the organizational constitution. This brings in the second, servant aspect of servant leadership—the operational/implementation aspect.

While our research indicates that 80 to 85 percent of the impact on organizational vitality or success comes from operational leadership, without a clear organizational constitution there would be nothing to implement or serve. Chris believes in these two aspects of effective leadership—and so will you when you finish this wonderful book.

Thank you, Chris, for helping everyone who believes that culture trumps everything to make that belief a reality.

—Ken Blanchard

Coauthor of The One Minute Manager® and Cofounder and

Chief Spiritual Officer of The Ken Blanchard Companies®

Acknowledgments

I'm indebted to a number of people who have paved the way for this book.

Ken Blanchard has been a proactive supporter of mine for more than 20 years. I'm grateful for his belief in me as a thought leader, consultant, and speaker. My first experience with publishing was to contribute a chapter in the revised and enhanced edition of Ken's best seller, Leading at a Higher Level. Ken has been a beacon of brilliant light for me to follow and learn from.

My clients—those of my own firm and my Blanchard clients—have given me access to their most precious resource: the hearts and minds of leaders and team members in their organizations. I appreciate their willingness to let me be a disruptive force and to consider these ideas as they refine their organizational cultures. Thanks, too, to my sales colleagues who open the door to client opportunities for culture refinement.

Matt Holt and Shannon Vargo at John Wiley & Sons have been champions of this book project since the moment they reviewed the proposal. I'm grateful for their enthusiasm, professionalism, and diligence to help me get these ideas into print and into the hands of leaders around the globe. Thanks also to Liz Gildea, editorial assistant, for her willing guidance and support of this project.

Mark Levy is a vital member of my branding brain trust. I appreciate Mark's humor, passion, clarity, and wide knowledge base of publishing, branding, and the New York Mets. Mark helped me find my sweet spot – championing an organizational constitution. Mark helped me refine my brand, my voice, and this book concept, and he continues to open doors for me today. Mark made this book a reality and I'm indebted to him.

Last but not least, I'm grateful for the love and support of my lovely bride (of 35 years), Diane. She has blessed this crazy dream of mine to publish these concepts and build a career helping organizations be better places to hang out.

Introduction

Is your workplace frustrating and lifeless, or is it engaging and inspiring?

When you think of your work environment, what descriptors come to mind?