It is likely you are familiar with the story of Pinocchio. The child’s tale was originally crafted in Italy in the late 1800. This work centered around the wooden boy coming to life and having to navigate various trials where his conscience needed to play a critical role in his nurturing. Depending on the situation, it would cause either a positive step forward or place him at the mercy of potentially devastating consequences. The wooden boy’s conscience was amplified by the character Jiminy Cricket.
So what might this have to do with leadership and the best operation of your business?
Your business is made up of people. Each person in your organization brings a different set of experiences, stories, and situations into the workplace. This broad set of variations is what can make your business thrive or make it challenging to navigate operations on a daily basis. So how might a leader have a Jiminy Cricket to guide each person’s conscience in a common direction so the business stays on a proper trajectory to accomplish its goals?
The basic answer is to have a solid framework and foundation that the organization upholds in all transactions and challenges. The framework and foundation start at the top with leadership. The details of this conscience are rooted in the organization’s Core Purpose, Core Values, Core Principles, and vision and mission, which contribute to the community and to all those who interact with the business, including staff.
Most organizations have some sort of framework they offer up to their team and the marketplace, but too frequently it gets distorted when push comes to shove, and then the conscience gets twisted, causing discourse both internally and externally. This twisting and turning of an organization’s framework is becoming a larger issue as the staff coming into the business to support it have less of a common understanding and appreciation for what is moral, honest, and right.
Social media offers lots of transactions people find interesting, funny, or even outrageous, but viewed through the lens of a well-formed conscience, a significant portion of that exposure might be challenged by what is actually wrong or bad and viewed, or more importantly, not viewed. This constant exposure to content which drifts further and further away from a solid moral compass becomes the way people now accept marginal behavior as completely acceptable. This behavior now creeps into your business and, left unchecked, starts to unravel a good business.
As the leader of your organization, it is solely up to you to grasp your responsibility and accountability for such behaviors and stand tall and firm on what is acceptable within the framework of your organization. Turning a blind eye and hoping it is just a fad and will go away is exactly why businesses are struggling with any number of issues.
This week, make a choice. What are the boundaries around your framework you will not bend on? Make sure everyone in the organization is fully aware of the framework and then have significant consequences you will enforce under all circumstances. Yes, it sounds very harsh, but if you are growing your asset portfolio, you would not buy worthless assets into it.
Seeking to tighten up your organization’s framework and foundation moving forward? Call a Promise Guide and start the conversation. JKL Associates can be reached at MI (313) 527-7945 or FL (407) 984-7246
Journey On!
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Celebrating 30 years of Delivering on “Promises”
