Improving Integrity with Clear Expectations

This week's post comes from Doug Post.

Last time We noted that integrity means, "I do what I say I'm going to do . . . every time." We noted Michael Myatt's definition: honesty is making your words match reality; integrity is making reality match your words.

We learned 3 key skills for leading with integrity:

1. You must understand what you have been requested to give your word to.
2. Say "yes" only when you mean it and are willing to act, even at personal cost.
3. Get very good at saying "no," because that is going to be your most common response.

But, if you've tried to live with integrity in the past few months, you have probably failed many times. I know I have. I have double-booked meetings and not set clear expectations with meeting leaders. I've been late to meetings. I've told my co-workers I would get them something by Wednesday, but considered early Thursday morning close enough. I have overcommitted to clients and chosen to sacrifice family commitments to meet the client's expectations. The concept of integrity is simple, but it is difficult to do what we say.

So, then what? Well, we can learn to live with more integrity. Consider these three practices:

1. Recovery. When your "yes" turns out to be a "no," acknowledge the breach. When necessary, apologize. And finally, recommit to integrity. That's it. No excuses. 

2. Clear Expectations and Commitments. Let's consider building skills #1 and #2 (above) by differentiating between statements, requests, and commands. A statement is a description of something or the condition of someone. No response is required, and there is no opening to give your word. A request is an invitation to give your word--either "yes" or "no." Commands are an essential part of high-performance organizations, and the only response to them is "yes." Though not used often, they are the fastest way to get stuff done.  Let's look at some examples:

• Statement: "The garbage needs to go out." OR "Our profits are declining."
• Request: "Will you please take the garbage out before you go to bed?" OR "Will you get me an analysis of why our profits are declining by tomorrow afternoon?"
• Command: "Take the garbage out before you go to bed." OR "Get me the analysis of why our profits are declining by tomorrow afternoon."

         Too many people cloak requests as statements and commands as requests, which
         confuses and frustrates everyone. Commands as requests are an act of cowardice.

         For high performance and integrity we must:

• Discern between statements, requests, and commands.
• Make sure everyone understands that statements don't require responses or actions.
• Make sure people have a right to say "no" to requests without repercussions. High performance companies get this. For example, "Can you complete the report by noon tomorrow?" High performance answer: "No, I need to take my son to the dentist, is 4 p.m. ok?"
• In the rare event that a command is required, the only possible response is "yes." However, stating the tradeoff is appropriate. This sounds like, "Yes, Bill, I will have that report to you tomorrow but know that I will not be making the call to Joe as a result."

Note: Commands are rare and do not only come from the leaders in your organization. For example, an Administrative Assistant might tell the President what he must do before leaving on a trip. Or, an engineer may tell the P.E. when she must have the drawings signed.

3. Say "No."  . . .  We'll consider saying no next time.

            To build your integrity with others, (1) learn to recover from integrity breaches, (2) share
            clear expectations and commitments, and (3) develop the ability to "say no."

How do you struggle with integrity? What helps you improve your integrity?
 

Continue Leading the Interstates Way!

Doug Post

 

External sources: The Primes by Chris McGoff, p. 129-132, 136-139.
Other sources to develop your integrity: The Speed of Trust by Stephen M. R. Covey, p. 66-72, 111-112.  Executive EQ by Robert Cooper, chp. 11

Another Perspective on Servant Leadership

This week's post comes from Jake Ten Haken.

As I look back at the busy basketball season, I admit it was very difficult to have a meal at home with my family, which means I had more than my fair share of opportunities to eat at restaurants. However, when I was in most of those restaurants, not only was I enjoying the food, friends and atmosphere, I was also taking special note of the waiters and waitresses. This curiosity was spurred by a recent article from the Iowa School Board Association’s publication of Dan Rockwell’s leadership blog. I believe the thoughts shared in that blog can easily be related to our work at Interstates. It has me thinking about our roles as servant leaders a bit differently. Rockwell indicates that we should think of our job like a waiter or waitress by putting the interests of others ahead of our own.

1. Commit to create a great experience for others.
As leaders at Interstates, we are always looking for the best way to present a concept or idea.  Sometimes it is to an internal team member, and other times it’s with an external partner. Hopefully we do this in a manner that allows others to feel empowered as opposed to feeling railroaded down a specific track.

2. Watch over; never hover.
PMs, programming leads and engineers need to serve as quasi-parents many times. It can be tough to give our less-experienced teammates independence without hovering over them. We get overly concerned that they won’t do it just right. Or worse yet, they may not do it the same way we would have done it. It is extremely important that we give them every opportunity we can for them to learn on their own and yet protect them.

3. Inquire, understand, and connect.
I’m not sure I need to expound on this concept, because in my opinion, we have this captured with the first half of our vision statement: Understanding Needs.  There is no better way to begin that journey than by asking questions and listening.

4. Don’t intrude or dominate.
As a servant leader, we know “it’s not about us.” This isn’t always an easy task. We all have busy lives and many things on our plate. It is sometimes hard to always serve others, but as leaders at Interstates, we need to never dominate or think only about our needs.

5. Anticipate needs. Meet needs without being asked.
It always impresses me when a waiter or waitress shows up with a refill or tops off my water glass just before I need him to.  That is a great example of what we should be doing for our clients. We need to anticipate their needs and fix them before they become issues.  At a minimum, we need to bring them possible solutions, not simply remind them of their issues.

6. Clear. Get stuff out of the way without getting in the way.
This is about as clear as mud and it is extremely hard. There are always many things vying for the attention of our clients. Sometimes it's the project, and sometimes it’s other items at their plants. The challenge is to clear away whatever the obstacle is that may interfere with our ability to deliver the project for them.

7. Express gratitude for the opportunity to serve.
We need to remember that there are lots of others that would love to serve our clients, and our clients have a choice every time they issue a purchase order or a contract. We need to show appreciation to them that they have trusted us enough to deliver a project for them.

As amusing as it sounds to have a waiter start to butter your bun or cut your steak, I must admit there are times when I pull a #4….I attempt to dominate meetings or intrude on others' agendas. How about you? Take a minute to post a comment about one of the items you are struggling with or better yet, comment about someone you see excelling at modeling one of the behaviors listed above.

Continue Leading the Interstates Way!
Jake Ten Haken