The last article left you with three questions related to ethical conduct: Who am I?  Who are We? (as a company) and What is the Company?  Many small companies exist because of the vision of the original owner to do something differently or present new products to the world. If the organization’s purpose is not well-grounded, i.e., the vision and mission are not explicitly clear and supported by organizational values that guide and discipline consistent behavior and performance, then long term sustainability and success are only pipe dreams.

To stay in business and grow, owners and the people they employ need to be change leaders who continually innovate and create new products that stimulate and excite existing and potential buyers.  Products and services by themselves are not sufficient to ensure sales and revenues.

This article will not go into the details of sales, but like all other aspects of business, successful sustained sales result from the trust and caring within relationships with customers. The driving question is: Why should people buy your products or services? Is it the features or what lies behind the product or service? What truly differentiates your company in the marketplace?  One objective should be to create “raving fans” who become extensions of your sales team because of their own convictions about the superlative qualities of what you provide.

Recall again the Virtuous Cycle.  Your Human Capital is a clear differentiator if you design and build your internal systems to maximize the Knowledge, Intellectual, and Relationship Capital that rests within your staff.  If capital is properly aligned, your people will want to stay and grow with the company and continue to build strong relationships with the stakeholders they serve, thereby strengthening your brand in the process. All stakeholders – employees, clients, customers, suppliers, communities, and even governments-benefit through win-win relationships.

In your role as a Strategic Leader, you are responsible for the success of your entire enterprise, regardless of its size or reach. Too many leaders of small businesses get wrapped up in day-to-day operations and fail to pay sufficient attention to the critical practices of this role. As a Level 4 leader, you are responsible for defining the culture that will inspire and motivate others to achieve your vision.  As a Level 5 leader, you must scan the environment, look “over the horizon,” anticipate issues that can and will impact your enterprise, and establish the transcendent vision that sets you apart from your competitors. Where do you start?

Within our book, It’s My Company TOO! we tell the stories of several real-life high-performing companies, nearly all of which began as entrepreneurial startups.  Thirty-two years ago, C. Richard Panico founded Integrated Project Management Company Inc. (IPMC) in Burr Ridge, IL with the vision of creating the most ethical company in America. The continuing growth of IPM, which is now in seven locations across the country, is a testament to its success in building and sustaining relationships with well-known companies in the major industries IPMC serves.  Their success began with and continues through having an ethical organization grounded in a well-defined culture.

Here are some key thoughts about building an ethical culture:

  1. Ethical organizations begin and end at the top. You need to lead with heart and soul, as well as your mind.  You cannot expect your staff to build relationships based on values of trust and caring if you aren’t practicing and demonstrating these values first.
  2. Marketplace differentiators begin with core beliefs and values. You need to shape an ethical culture consciously, constructively, and constantly.  The last article affirmed that Ethical Leadership and Company Values are the foundation to long-term success.  Why?  Because employees who identify with and align their personal values closely with those of the organization get to be their most authentic selves and feel comfortable and confident in working with others.
  3. Employees will give their best efforts when leaders (a) Create the right culture where employees feel nourished and nurtured, (b) Respect and trust them to do the right thing, (c) Instill confidence by practicing exemplary leadership, (d) Freely admit they don’t have all the answers, and (e) Look to employees for solutions. Trustful relationships, confidence to face challenges, and meaningful collaboration emerge from continual practice of the Three Cs – Cooperation, communication, and coordination-that nurture breakthrough thinking and collaborative innovations that drive the company forward.

 

Building an ethical culture begins with your human capital. Organizational values provide the framework and boundaries for how employees do business, but our people need to know how their work aligns with the organization’s purpose, i.e., its vision and mission, from which individual, team, and organizational goals emerge. Here’s an initial “checklist” to help you assess what exists and what you have yet to build for an ethical culture:

  • Well-defined organizational values and value statements that articulate how these values appear in action and service to others.
  • Well-defined organizational purpose, i.e., the Vision and Mission.
  • Well-articulated goals for each employee, team, business unit, and the company.
  • A positive work environment where each employee is valued, appreciated, recognized, and rewarded for their contribution to the CULTURE as well as their assigned work.
  • A well-articulated focus on relational competence, the foundation of which is relationship management (the highest level of Emotional Intelligence), with appropriate recognition and rewards.

 

Additional Suggested Reading (Available through Amazon):

Thompson, K. R., Benedetto, R., L., & Walter, T. J. with Molly Meyer. (2012). It’s my company too!  How entangled organizations move beyond employee engagement for remarkable results.  Austin, TX; Greenleaf Book Group.

Questions for the Week: How many items on the initial checklist above exist for my company? Which ones do I need to prioritize and work on?

 

About the Author: Dr. Ray Benedetto is co-founder of GuideStar, Inc.® a practice in organizational leadership for performance excellence (www.guidestarinc.com). He is a retired Air Force colonel with a distinguished active-duty military career. He is board certified in Healthcare Management and a Life Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE). Dr. Ray taught leadership for 12 years for the University of Phoenix Chicago campus. He holds degrees from Penn State (BS), the University of Southern California (MSSM), and the University of Phoenix (DM). He is co-author of “It’s My Company TOO! How Entangled Companies Move Beyond Engagement for Remarkable Results” (Greenleaf Book Press Group, 2012) and numerous ezine articles available online. You can reach him at ray@guidestarinc.com.

 

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