9-Dec-08 9:15 AM CST

Foundational Commitments: A Key to Leadership of Strategic Execution (excerpt from Foundational Leaders, a book by Bob Chapman, Ph.D.)

Foundational Commitments

A key to leadership in strategic execution

BY BOB CHAPMAN, PH.D.

Effective leadership must be present if strategic execution is to be achieved. Most strategic execution is not business as usual, but rather the achievement of something extraordinary. This out of the ordinary requires breakthroughs in business performance and value creation, and thus is horribly dependent on leadership. Effective leadership is not given by position, by authority, nor by delegation. Effective leadership does not happen by accident. Rather, effective leadership is caused by the leader. Effective leadership is created or generated on a day-to-day basis by the leader for the specific purpose of achieving breakthroughs in business performance and value creation. Foundational commitments are the bedrock source for an individual being able to generate leadership.

The Ground of Foundational Commitments

The root word of foundational is “to found”. We all know what it means to found something. People found colleges, their children’s investment funds, and companies. To found is to establish something on a solid basis. If we trace the word found back to its origins, we finally get to the ancient Latin word for “bottom”. When something is founded, it rests on a very bottom tenet, principle or stand.

Leaders who are effective in bringing about breakthrough business results and value creation found their leadership on bedrock principles from which no circumstance can shake them. These leaders who operate from foundational commitments invent conversations and behaviors based on never-changing tenets that reflect the very ground of being that sources what the leaders stand for. Leaders sourced by their own foundational commitments then enact the conversations they have invented. These actions and conversations come from the base - the bottom - of what the leader believes makes life and work worthwhile and meaningful.

A metaphor for foundational commitments is the cornerstone in a building. The cornerstone is the first step in building the foundation of a building and the critical support on which everything else is built. Likewise, the foundational commitments of a leader are the fundamentals from which individuals create their being.

This creation process occurs moment to moment throughout the day. That is, leaders give themselves over to these foundational commitments as a ground of being. The foundational commitments create the context in which leaders think and work. The leaders operate from foundational commitments rather than from opinions, concerns, and worries. Given this ground of being, leaders are able to see what is needed to forward the work of a team or the business and invent the actions and conversations that will produce the intended consequences.

Foundational Commitments Matter

The first invented conversation foundational-commitment leaders have with themselves is “thinking” and is what provides the leaders with a clear perspective on the situation. The behaviors and conversations that result from this thinking provide the energy and possibility for others to understand the action that is being requested.

In addition, the conversations that are sourced by the leader’s foundational commitments provide the employees with the opportunity to assess the leader to determine if they can trust this person and want to risk becoming involved in the action being requested.

Leaders must operate from foundational commitments in order to establish credibility with the people in the organization. If the people have the sense that the leader is the “real deal,” there is appreciation for what is said, even if it is hard to hear. There is the sense that the leader is being honest, candid, and speaking from the heart.

Most individuals in a company say they espouse some form of beliefs and values. The question is: are these beliefs and values expedient and in-the-moment; or are these beliefs and values stable and authentic?

The beliefs and values of a leader who operates from foundational commitments are stable and authentic. They are actively demonstrated and readily expressed. They are practiced in everyday life. These beliefs and values shape the being of the leader, which, in turn, forms the basis for personal motivation and perspective. Personal motivation and perspective, in turn, become the foundation for the actions that the leader takes. Foundational commitments live as consistent core actions and conversations and, because the commitments are authentic, the leader is able to enroll others to do the hard work of achieving breakthroughs in performance.

Examples of Foundational Commitments

While foundational commitments are unique for each individual, there is a common set that I have seen present in the successful leaders with whom I have been privileged to work. These include:

· Integrity. A commitment to speak the truth and to be known as a member of that group of human beings who do what they say they will do and whose word is their “bond.”

· Candor. A willingness to be complete and to speak directly in conversations, i.e., appreciation for “straight talk.”

· Learning. An exhibited thirst for continual learning and knowledge.

· Inspiring the actions of others. A desire to walk the talk and also a desire to see others walking the talk.

· Motives for change clear and above question. A strong desire for the motives for change to be experienced as authentic and in the best interest of the whole. Also, a strong desire not to be seen as self-serving or taking actions for personal benefit.

· Value Creation. A commitment to creating value for the stakeholders of the operation and company first, with less attention to what is in one’s personal best interest.

· Well-being of the people. A passion for the safety and well-being of the employees and customers. Safety becomes a guiding light.

· Development of the capability of the organization. Candor about the organization’s current capabilities to execute the strategy. This translates into intense focus on what is needed for development of the functional capabilities of the organization. Also, there is commitment to development of employees as individuals.

· Boldness. A willingness to be bold if not outrageous at times in order to lead the organization to achieve the needed results.

· Continual striving to improve performance regardless of current success. An unwillingness to settle for second best. A practice of looking forward to the next opportunity or challenge. A practice of not allowing complacency or arrogance to settle in.

· Sharing the rewards with those who helped achieve them. A clear plan for recognizing, acknowledging and rewarding those individuals in the company who helped create the success.

Foundational Commitments in Action

It is not hard to identify the foundational commitments of this sailing team leader as he writes about a recent race:

Day #5 – Final Day - A fun, yet hard fought day. Today's single race was the “Medal Race" for the Regatta. Ten boats, one race, places count double on a very short course. Very exciting. Press boats and coaches swarmed the course area. Multi classes all starting on the same course at varied start times.

The breeze was mid-teens with some higher and lower gusts. We had a good start mid-line. Some boats piled up on the pin end. We stayed on Starboard with the Brits, took a tack to the right but didn't get far enough right as the far right came in. We rounded the top mark about mid fleet. Racing was close! No spinnaker as the reach was too tight. No boat set. We set at the reach mark and only gibed once to the leeward. It was a very short leg!! We tried to catch a shift on the next beat and were somewhat successful; however, the beat was already over by the time we got into the shift. We rounded, one gibe, rounded the leeward mark as the Italians capsized in front of us, held off the Israelis at the finish, and took 6th. An okay result in a tough fleet. It surely could have been better. The race was over before we knew it! Lessons learned: This was our first experience with the new format. We need to get used to this new format, particularly on such a short course in a breeze. It is fun, no doubt about it.

We remain very excited by our performance this week. Moreover, we've become more comfortable in some conditions we previously had speed problems with. Mid-teens velocities are now becoming a strong suit. We keep 'up-ing" our top wind velocity comfort levels. We have much to do, but we like the trajectory and wind velocity comfort levels.

If we wanted to abstract from this communication the foundational commitments of the leader of this sailing team, we might list phrases like these: commitment to winning; commitment to learning; commitment to making positive use of setbacks and failures; commitment to seeing situations as they are and telling the truth about these situations to the best of the leader’s ability.

Business leaders who achieve breakthrough results and create value, just like sports professional, act from commitments which are bedrock. While these foundational commitments may not be so easy to identify and articulate in the business world as in the sport of sailing, they nevertheless inform everything the leader does just as fully as do the commitments of the head of this sailing team. It is a most worthwhile activity, therefore, for a business leader to examine what foundational commitments create his or her conversations and actions so that these conversations and actions become conscious and can be articulated to everyone in the organization.

Foundational Commitments Are Not Synonymous with Company Values Statements

While I encourage businesses to have dialogs with employees about shared values and how those values relate to the future of the business, this kind of dialog is not what I am referencing when I talk about foundational commitments. Unfortunately, too often the development of “value statements” has been an exercise or a fashionable thing for management to do. For the past few decades, consultants and management gurus have encouraged business teams to develop such value statements. Rarely, in fact, do I encounter a business that does not have a value statement. When surveyed, employees will tell you that the company does have a values statement and that it is hanging on the wall in the lobby, the lunchroom and/or the copy room. When asked, however, if that values statement is practiced or experienced as “real,” the employees say that the values statement has made little difference in the running of the company.

The gap between what the management team says is the values of the company and the actual practices becomes a significant challenge for the leader who is committed to achieving breakthrough results. This gap can be closed only when leaders act every day from foundational commitments that stand solid. It is only such authentic invented conversations and actions that can ever give any meaning to the company’s values statements.

Foundational Commitments: Not Everyone Has “Got ‘Em”:

Not everyone who has jobs of responsibility in an organization acts from foundational commitments. In some companies it is rare to find managers who are willing to step up and lead from foundational commitments. For a variety of reasons, many managers operate from pseudo-commitment. Rather than coming from foundational commitments, a pseudo-commitments driven manger looks to the political environment of the organization for guidance. That is, this person looks for clues of the behavior that will win acceptance and approval by others in the organization. The pseudo-commitment manager’s behavior is designed to gain acceptance, approval and praise from others, not necessarily to produce business results.

Pseudo-commitments lead to behaviors and conversations based on (1) what these individuals think will make them look good, (2) what they think will please their superiors, or (3) what they think is the expedient thing to do at the moment. The mantra of the pseudo-commitment manager is “tell me what to do and I will go do it.”

A good way to think of pseudo-commitments is to consider situational ethics. In situational ethics, no action is wrong in and of itself; it is, rather, the situation in which the action occurs that determines whether an action is good or bad. Situational ethics change with the circumstances. What is wrong or right - or what I believe or don’t believe - is shaped by the circumstances or surroundings. When in Rome, do as Romans do.

Managers who operate from pseudo-commitments are like individuals who live by situational ethics. These managers are a significant liability to the leader who is working from foundational commitments to achieve a breakthrough in performance. This is because individuals who live by pseudo-commitments are often very good at jumping on the bandwagon of the next program or process that comes along because they think it is politically correct to do so. These individuals will involve themselves in a current program and appear to be doing and saying the right things, even when they are actually not doing what is expected.

Pseudo-commitment managers may be hard to spot early on, because they are usually excellent at “managing up.” They say all the right things and appear to be carrying out the intent of the people to whom they report. Over time however, telltale signs expose these pseudo-commitment managers so that it becomes clear they are not actually doing what is expected of them.

The evidence that an individual is operating from pseudo-commitments rather than from foundational commitments is the results accomplished in something other than business as usual. For example, look at projects as well as responses to challenges. Examine how many initiatives this individual has started and how few have actually been completed and produced results. People around this kind of manager will say things like, “We’ve had a lot of takeoffs, but very few landings.” Most of these initiatives simply disappeared during the night. At first, this evidence appears as “accidents,” or a time-specific explainable event. Then a pattern starts to develop.

The danger that these pseudo-commitment managers pose to genuine foundational commitment leaders is that they poison the organization to the possibility of excellent performance and breakthrough. Pseudo-commitment manager’s agreements quickly dissipate when they are faced with making difficult decisions and taking unpopular actions. A classic example is of a pseudo-commitments manager who is unwilling to confront a direct report who is an “ally,” even though this employee is clearly “misbehaving.” This misbehavior can show up as not taking agreed upon actions, not producing the expected results or not following the agreed-upon strategy. The pseudo-commitment manager will find many reasons and excuses not to take needed action with the “ally.” Rather than confronting what needs to be dealt with, the pseudo-commitment managers will ignore the problem, head off in another direction, or stall until the momentum of the program dissipates. This behavior results in others in the organization becoming quite aware of the inauthentic nature of the manager’s commitment. This awareness leads to a fundamental lack of trust for that person.

A pseudo-commitment manager can do much to undermine the credibility of the foundational-commitment leader and the effort to achieve breakthrough performance. Pseudo-commitment managers behave in ways that are quite inconsistent with the commitment and intent of the foundational leader, even though it may not be apparent at first. While this behavior may be hidden from the leader, it is not hidden from the people in the organization. If the leader who wants to achieve the breakthrough in performance trusts and uses the pseudo-commitments manager, the people assume that neither of them is serious about the performance improvement and ignore the change efforts.

What separates these two types of commitments: foundational and pseudo-commitments? Foundational commitments are internally generated and are not derived from the situation alone but are reflective of the individual’s deepest commitments. By contrast, pseudo-commitments are superficial and serve the agenda of the individual. Pseudo-commitments also result in unproductive behaviors that employees can identify in a heartbeat.

Examples of Pseudo Commitments

When asked to describe the characteristics of an individual who operates with pseudo-commitments, employees identify behaviors like these:

· Situational ethics rather than integrity in action and speech. The person is driven by the need to get approval and to look good.

· Dissembling rather than candor. This person is candid only so long as this candor does not reflect negatively on their supporters or themselves. They may become agitated at the request for “straight talk.”

· Short-term actions rather than long-term actions. The pseudo-commitments individual focuses on what seems useful to do today rather than taking on the harder, long-term actions that create value.

· Well being of supporters, rather than well being of all the employees. This individual does not have a commitment to all, but looks after her or his “own.”

· Adhering to a personal perspective rather than being open to examine the unknown and the more difficult. These individuals who operate from pseudo-commitments will surround themselves with “loyalists” who agree with their personal perspectives. These pseudo-commitment managers are unwilling to question their perspective, to venture into the unknown, or to make difficult or unpopular decisions.

· Being popular and well-regarded are more important than winning. This person is always looking for approval and chooses popularity over making a tough call.

· Complacency rather than continual striving to improve performance. This person will not address underperforming employees if these people are their supporters. Nor will this person be aggressive in dealing with problems with customers.

· Support for the correctness of approach rather than learning. The pseudo-commitment manager focuses on rules and procedures rather than being willing to accept the messiness that is inherent in learning new ways to operate in order to achieve breakthrough results.

· Goal of compliance of others rather than inspired actions of others. The individuals who operate from pseudo-commitments will not give leeway for people who work for them to create new ways of working that inspire others; instead, they focus on having individuals be compliant and follow the old ways of operation.

· Looking out for # 1 (Self) and doing what’s self-serving, rather than sharing the rewards with others. These individuals are not interested in others being recognized and rewarded if this means that less attention and rewards will be forthcoming for themselves.

The characteristics are not hard to spot, especially by front-line employees. They mark conversations and actions that cannot produce breakthrough results or create value.

From the Mouths of Children

There is a children’s book that captures the behaviors of pseudo-commitment managers in an amusing and enlightening way. Me Too Iguana by Jacquelyn Reinach and Richard Hefter[1] is the story of an iguana that gets herself into trouble by trying to become like every animal she runs into and then forgets who and what she really is. Whatever animal the little iguana sees, she wants to be, rather than be herself.

When the iguana sees an elephant in the grocery store, she goes home and gets a rubber hose, paints it gray, and ties it to her nose so that she can be an elephant. When she sees a lion in the barbershop, she goes home and puts yellow wool all over her head so that people will think she is a lion. When she saw a stork fly over the post office, the iguana set off home to make wings so she could fly. At every turn, the iguana tries to hide her true identity so that she will look like other types of animals.

While this is a cute story for children, it is, unfortunately, also a description of the pseudo-commitment managers. One of my colleagues had the occasion to work for a master pseudo-commitment manager. My colleague’s wife could, early on, see the pseudo-commitments behavior of the manager and began to refer to her husband’s boss as “the iguana,” based on the main character in this children’s book. I have told this story a number of times, and each time the listeners quickly identify the iguanas in their own work experience.

Separating the Goats From the Sheep

Leaders who live by foundational commitments are keenly aware of the liability posed by pseudo-commitment managers. Even when these pseudo-commitment managers are saying the right thing and appearing enthusiastic, the leader with authentic foundational commitments will, over time, begin to see the wrong behaviors that come from the thinness of the person’s commitments.

The challenge in strategic execution is the need to create breakthrough business results and value creation. This calls on the leaders to identify quickly those individuals who are driven by pseudo-commitments. If a manager is driven by pseudo-commitments it is unlikely that he or she will be successful in leading any change needed to create breakthrough results or increase value. Absent the foundational commitments that ring true, the individual simply will not have the courage to take “tough positions,” to have difficult conversations with “allies,” nor enough credibility with the employees to motivate them to take the actions needed to get the results. Employees are usually keenly aware of which of their supervisors and managers are shaped by pseudo-commitments and which are shaped by foundational commitments. In fact, many employees have seen previous change efforts falter and fail because of the behavior of pseudo-commitment managers and are skeptical of all leaders, imagining that every leader works this way.

What the leader who is driving breakthroughs in performance must appreciate is that the managers currently in place were successful in an old culture. They found ways to adapt and thrive in that culture. If not, they would not be in their current positions.

If the goals for improvement in performance require significant contextual and cultural change, then these current managers must also significantly change. The critical question is what will be the cause or source of the change: pseudo-commitments or foundational commitments? If people change simply to please the new boss, it will not work out. The current managers must find the motivation for change from within and this motivation must be based on a solid bottom of foundational commitments.

Often finding the motivation for change from within is very difficult for people who have become successful by being “popular” and “politically correct.” Those who thrived in the old culture may be the last ones to make the change, given that they are the best at being what was expected and rewarded in the old culture. This is a crucial point in initiating a breakthrough in performance. While the people may have long tenure with the company, extensive industry experience and great academic credentials, they may not be able to make such a fundamental shift.

Individuals’ ability to be grounded in foundational commitments is a primary determinant of whether these people will make the necessary changes. Hence, it is important to determine who has clear foundational commitments that will work in the new culture and strategy. This determination is very crucial in strategic execution where there has to be significant organizational change in order to achieve improved performance.

Conclusion

Foundational commitments are bedrock stands that are who a leader is. These foundational commitments become invented conversations leaders hold with themselves and with those around them. Foundational commitments are a demonstration of leadership since they provide the energy and possibility for others to discover foundational commitments for themselves and, ultimately, to generate their own unique expressions of foundational-commitment leadership. The invention of foundational commitments provides an opening for thinking and action by others.

Foundational commitments are the source of leadership. They are what give energy, direction and guidance to the leader who is in the midst of implementing significant change in order to achieve breakthrough results and value creation. Foundational commitments are what give authenticity and candor to the speaking of the leader and what makes the communication about the need for change land well with the employees. It is important that there is “obviousness” to the leader’s behavior and conversations. It should be clear that the desired results will benefit the business and the location and will provide some benefit or gain for the employees as well as the customers and shareholders. The foundational commitments can be heard by all levels of the organization and, in fact, resonate particularly well with the front line since the communication is so authentic.

Foundational commitments provide guidance in turbulent times. They are like a compass. These bedrock commitments allow the leader to keep a sense of direction even when there is confusion and turbulence. While most wish that achieving breakthrough results and creating value could be orderly, predictable and stable, that simply is not the case. But foundational commitments do provide a sense of stability and guidance in the tough times.

[1] Jacquelyn Reinach, Richard Hefter (Illustrator). Me Too Iguana (Sweet Pickles Series). Henry Holth & Co. March 1977.