The Tone from the Top

It starts with the top

Challenge: Today’s world creates a transparency, that demands much more authenticity and consistency from leaders, than ever before.

Solution: Leaders need to become credible role models

Very important is the different perspective between hierarchies. How often have I heard from leaders “I have made my intentions clear, therefore, everyone should know, what to do!

The disconnect between, what a leader knows, feels and intends for her workforce and what the workforce perceives, is one of the greatest barriers for successful implementation of a new culture.

When a leader wants the organisation to follow a new course, she needs to communicate relentlessly. In clear and bold statements:

“When faced with this risk, we act decisively and transparently. And if we lose, you will not be penalised, but rewarded for acting courageously” or

“There are things, we do not do: Selling the customer something, he doesn’t need is one of them”

But frequent and clear communication alone is not sufficient. The leader need to be seen to act in sync with her words, e.g. to praise someone, who has just lost a deal, because he acted in the customer’s best interest.

And the leader needs to create good feedback mechanism, so she hears immediately and directly, when she acts or communicates against her stated intentions – even if unintentionally.

Finally the leader needs to create the opportunities for her teams to think and discuss the new way of working, because she does not want compliance, but clear-headed and intrinsically motivated people following of the new way of working.