Good Comes First - Leaders Model the Culture They Want
Driving Results Through Culture
Release Date: 09/20/2021
Culture Leadership Charge, Episode 107, December 2022: Build a Culture of Respect
Driving Results Through Culture
Most business leaders see their job as managing results. Results are important, but they’re only half the leaders’ job. The other half? Managing respect. Our experience and research lead us to this core truth of business leadership: Employes of all generations desire and deserve a work culture where they are respected and validated for their aligned ideas, efforts, and contributions, every day. When employees experience respect and validation, they bring their best. They proactively solve problems, work cooperatively, and wow customers. They feel a part of something positive and powerful -...
info_outline
Culture Leadership Charge, Episode 106 - October 2022
Driving Results Through Culture
We’re not yet over the “Great Resignation.” The indicates that another 4.2 million US workers voluntarily quit in August 2022. LinkedIn’s 2022 found that nearly 25 percent of Gen-Z respondents and Millennials plan to change jobs in the next six months. This study found that Gen-Zs and Millennials deliberately seek careers that offer: Better alignment with their interests and values Opportunities to learn and practice new skills Better compensation and benefits A new industry or job function Opportunities to move up or increase responsibilities If your business...
info_outline
Culture Leadership Charge - BBCtv Interview - September 2022
Driving Results Through Culture
A month ago, the term “quiet quitting” hadn’t made much of a mark. A social media post on the concept went viral – and now everyone is talking about it. I was delighted to join BBC News’ The Context broadcast and speak to host Nuala McGovern about quiet quitting – and how business leaders can address it. This podcast includes the audio from the live broadcast on August 25, 2022. What is quiet quitting? It means employees are no longer going “above and beyond” – they’re doing exactly what their job description says they should do. They’re not taking on extra work;...
info_outline
Culture Leadership Charge, Episode 105, July 2022 - How does your culture rate?
Driving Results Through Culture
Companies around the globe are short-staffed. Leaders have tried to boost hiring through higher wages and even bonuses, but staffing shortages continue. The problem? Many business leaders want to return to the “old normal” but employees and candidates don’t want “old normal.” A new Deloitte study found the top four things Gen-Y and Gen-Z workers want include work/life balance, development opportunities, higher salaries, and a positive culture. Money isn’t their primary driver. What must leaders do? They must build and sustain a work culture where employees of all generations...
info_outline
Culture Leadership Charge, Episode 104 - "No one talks about Bruno."
Driving Results Through Culture
About that title? We’ll get to Bruno in a minute. The foundational principle of our book, Good Comes First, is that today’s leaders must make RESPECT as important as RESULTS, every day. My colleague and co-author, Mark Babbitt, and I were keynoting a conference. In our presentation, we share this fundamental model - the Performance-Values Matrix. Once you formalize performance expectations AND values expectations, players categorize themselves into one of four quadrants. The upper right is where you want all players to operate. You want them to exceed performance expectations while...
info_outline
Culture Leadership Charge - Episode 103: Find Your Culture "Sweet Spot"
Driving Results Through Culture
Most of you know me as a speaker, writer, and consultant. Some of you know that I’m a working musician on the side. I grew up in California in the ’50’s and ’60’s. I watched great artists playing cool guitars - and I fell in love with stringed instruments. I’ve been collecting them since college. To stay healthy, stringed instruments need one thing every minute of every day: proper humidity. These instruments are made of wood - wood that reacts to the environment they’re in. Acoustic instruments have a sweet spot: they are healthiest when they exist in an environment with 45-55%...
info_outline
Culture Leadership Charge - Define & Align to Servant Purpose
Driving Results Through Culture
In our new book, Good Comes First, co-author Mark Babbitt and I propose four culture cornerstones that are the foundation of an uncompromising work culture. These cornerstones help align people and practices to your ideal work culture. Our first cornerstone, “Live Our Servant Purpose,” enables leaders, employees, contractors, and even customers to see that your company serves a purpose other than just making money. What is a “servant purpose”? A servant purpose describes how or what your company does and how it improves the quality of life for employees, customers, and the communities...
info_outline
Culture Leadership Charge - Preconceived Notions May Steer You Wrong
Driving Results Through Culture
Business leaders today have a lot on their minds – and on their plates. They juggle hiring challenges. Mask mandates. Retaining talented players. Vaccine guidelines. Supply chain issues. Generating revenue. All these tasks are demanding, requiring attention and intention every minute. Yes, these are important considerations in today’s business environment. However, they are not the ONLY important considerations. Leaders may have a preconceived notion about these considerations: “This is my sole job: managing results.” When leaders are immersed in tasks like these, they may ignore...
info_outline
Culture Leadership Charge - Learning from a Chiropractor
Driving Results Through Culture
I’m old. Over the years, back and neck pain caused me to hold my neck & shoulders & back very tightly – so moving wouldn’t hurt. Those tight muscles learned to be inflexible and immovable – so I wouldn’t hurt. Muscles are incredibly powerful. If they learn to be inflexible and immovable, they act like bones – firm and solid. That firmness causes muscles to adhere to other muscles (for greater inflexibility) which compresses nerves. The result was a pinched nerve in my neck. Two surgeries in the last two years helped reduce the pain but my hands still didn’t work right. My...
info_outline
Culture Leadership Charge - Leaders, Here's Your 2022 Call to Action
Driving Results Through Culture
I’m reflecting on an anniversary this month. Twenty-eight years ago this month I had a heart attack. It was not how I planned to spend the day. Thanks to exceptional health professionals, dedicated family, and the grace of God, I survived. Like many others who have experienced a significant health issue, my heart attack caused me to reflect on my life. I knew my job at the time was not a great fit for me. I was not using my talents to proactively serve others. So, I left that role and started on the culture educator and consultant path. I am grateful to help leaders build and sustain...
info_outlineToday’s video features Good Comes First book co-authors Mark Babbitt and yours truly discussing a core foundation of a purposeful, positive, productive work culture. Here’s an excerpt.
Mark: “I often say, Chris, that most of what I learned about leadership was on the baseball field as a coach for three decades now. On the diamond, I learned that if you set rules and then you don’t follow those rules yourself – for instance, if you say showing up late to practice is unacceptable, but then you show up late – you’ve not only destroyed the values. You’ve not only destroyed the culture. You destroyed integrity, trust, respect.”
Chris: “How do they know what to believe?”
Mark: “In writing this book and in our work together, we got to learn from good bosses, the great bosses, and those that weren’t so great. It’s been interesting and in a couple of places within Good Comes First, we compare good comes first cultures with not so good cultures and good leaders with not so good leaders.
And it’s been very interesting to put in words what makes a great leader and, and what makes a leader untrustworthy. Some of these examples from clients helped us see where the failures are coming from.
Leaders bring us in. They say they want their culture to steer toward good. But then when we actually get in there, you find out the leaders aren’t the problem solvers. They’re actually the problem.
The best leaders by far we’ve discovered over the years and now with Good Comes First are the mentor-based leaders, the servant leaders.
That’s why mentorship is so important within Good Comes First. If you say that one of our values is we respect each other enough to show up on time and to be fully present, you have to follow the rules you set.
I have to model them. I have to coach them. I have to expect them, not just from other people, but from myself and every leader.
That’s not a common characteristic of many leaders. They don’t hold themselves accountable.
Leaders can’t just keep doing what they’ve been doing and expect their culture to change.
in Good Comes First, we help you develop an uncompromising company culture, where everybody knows what to expect every single day. And people are expected to live up to those expectations every single day. And so we can’t keep leading as we used to lead.”
Good Comes First publishes on September 28, 2021. Learn more and order your copy at GoodComesFirst.com.
This is episode six of our Good Comes First video series. You’ll find Good Comes First and Culture Leadership Charge episodes and more on my YouTube, iTunes, and Amazon Podcast channels.
Have you responded to this month’s culture leadership poll? Add your ratings to two questions – it takes less than a minute. Once you vote, click “results” to see the responses from around the globe.
Video production was brilliantly handled by Phelos Productions – Chris Archuleta and David Towers.