By Daniel Bobinski
Is your workplace focused and energized? If so, the leader impacted that. But if your workplace is dreary and a drain, the leader impacted that, too. The actions and attitudes of those at the top of an organizational chart have a significant influence on a workplace’s atmosphere. A more succinct way to say that is, “The leader creates the weather.”
Allow me to share with you an example that recently came to my attention. The names and places have been changed to protect the innocent – and the guilty.
Jennifer has 15 years of experience in management. The company in which she works, which we’ll call, “Fairview,” has 300 employees, 50 of which are in the division in which Jennifer works. Jennifer is a dedicated employee who has always aligned with Fairview’s values of “service first.”
Several years ago, Jennifer learned her boss would be retiring, and she expressed interest in the position. Long story short, she was selected for the job, making her one of five people holding leadership positions in her division.
Not long after Jennifer assumed her new role, Fairview’s CEO left to take a position elsewhere, and a new CEO, whom we’ll call Jim, entered the picture. It didn’t take long for Jim’s values to become known. Despite giving lip service to Fairview’s longstanding value of “service first,” Jim’s focus always revolved around money.
Budget cuts led to pay cuts. People were told they were lucky to stay employed, but they’d all be getting a 10% pay cut. Naturally, a few employees left for other jobs. Also, morale shifted away from people going the extra mile to serve clients to employees doing just enough to get the job done.
Then a curious change occurred in Jennifer’s division. David was one of the five key leaders and he was responsible for administration and budgeting. Without any problems noted in David’s performance and without any issues identified, David was transferred.
His replacement, Jason, turned out to be a college buddy of Jim, the new CEO. To Jennifer’s amazement, Jason had little experience in both administration and budgeting. Additional people started leaving when Jason started implanting strange new practices and policies. However, when Jennifer and the other leaders asked Jason about the intended results of his actions, he brushed them off, saying, “I’m trying something new.”
The exodus hasn’t stopped. More people have left, and morale is sinking like a rock. In fact, two of the other five leaders in Jennifer’s division have already found other employment, and last week Jennifer decided to actively shop her resume. Her friends say they had never seen Jennifer look so depleted and disheartened.
As Jennifer related this story to me, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for all the employees of her organization. And not just her division, but all 600 employees in the entire company.
What happened? One person – the new CEO – changed the weather throughout the entire organization.
The importance of moral values
Organizations do much better if they identify their moral values. Yes, they also benefit from a clear mission and vision, but specific values are a vital factor in the success equation. Sadly, clearly articulated values are overlooked far too often.
Author Nikos Mourkogiannis wrote about this in his 2006 book, “Purpose: The Starting Point of Great Companies.” One might wonder why I’m discussing a 2006 book, but the answer is because that book addresses the situation at Jennifer’s company with predictive accuracy.
Mission, vision, values
A vision statement tells us where you see your organization being at some point in the future. A mission statement tells us what you will do to get there. But a purpose statement or a values statement tells us your why. Such statements tell us what your organization chooses to value, and serves as guides for how to operate the organization on a day-to-day basis.
In his book, Mourkogiannis states that having a clear purpose goes beyond serving as a motivational focus. He says a value statement also acts as a unifier and therefore also serves as a long-term, enduring objective.
Mourkogiannis identifies four main types of moral purposes and one amoral purpose. Remember, a moral purpose serves to unify and drive employees. The four main moral purposes identified by Mourkogiannis are (in no particular order):
- Discovery. This value drives a company striving to be curious and innovative. One example is Apple. Evidence for this value was in the slogan Apple used at the turn of the century, “Think Different.”
- Excellence. This value aligns with the belief that excellent performance represents the supreme good in life. One organizational example is Nike, which motivates people to push for optimal success.
- Altruism. Newman’s Own is an altruistic brand, as they donate all profits after taxes to charitable causes. This was also the value for Fairview, Jennifer’s company, before their new CEO arrived, as evidenced by their motto of “service first.”
- Heroism. Different than the value of Discovery, the value of Heroism involves risk-taking to take clients or customers to a new and better norm. Examples include the Ford Motor Company which made cars affordable for everyone, and Microsoft, which sought to put a computer in every home.
And what is the amoral purpose? Money. Mourkogiannis says money is not immoral, it’s simply amoral, in that it provides no sustainable internal drive for most people. Thus, when companies value the acquisition of money over all other purposes, their de facto purpose becomes expediency, which does not provide meaningful or unifying inspiration to individuals within an organization.
Jennifer’s new CEO shifted Fairview from a purpose of altruism to money, and in less than a year the company was crumbling. This aligns with the observation of Mourkogiannis that companies with a money purpose rarely survive the challenges they will inevitably face.
This is why I feel sorry for Fairview’s 600 employees. All it took was one person at the top to change the organization’s purpose, and now hundreds of formerly dedicated employees – and their clients – are suffering upheaval and loss.
Daniel Bobinski, who has a doctorate in theology, is a best-selling author and a popular speaker at conferences and retreats. For more than 30 years he’s been working with teams and individuals (1:1 coaching) to help them achieve excellence. He was also teaching Emotional Intelligence since before it was a thing. Reach him by email at DanielBobinski@protonmail.com or 208-375-7606.
