Speaking of Leadership®, Vol. 2, No. 14
Phil Holberton

In a couple of days, we, in the United States, will celebrate the 4th of July, our annual holiday celebrating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. Part of the Declaration says, "that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness."

When I think of this holiday, it has all sorts of meanings to me, a number of which have to do with our own professional and personal lives. Liberty, one of the cornerstone values of our country (and our Declaration of Independence) gives us the freedom from government restriction and control to pursue what we want in our lives.

As leaders in our respective organizations, we seek to provide an organizational climate that provides our followers with the ultimate opportunity to pursue their dreams. Of course, we organize to achieve our strategic and operational objectives, but if we are truly outstanding leaders, we are cognizant of our employees' personal development needs and do everything in our power to help them grow. Being a leader is not a one-way street; it is all about developing and deepening a relationship with our followers that provides for trust--a trust that leads to maximum achievement.

Leaders need to be very sensitive to their followers' needs and provide a framework that gives everyone the liberty to accomplish their job in the way they want. Many leaders fall short when they attempt to micromanage their constituents, preventing actual progress from occurring. And, so often we try to motivate followers to achieve goals by offering special incentives. The most effective motivation, however, is an organizational climate that inspires employees--a climate that we must foster.

How many times have you seen followers react more favorably when the proper atmosphere is provided? Much of that atmosphere involves the liberty and freedom for employees to do their job in a way that is compatible with their own motives and personalities. The important outcome is that the agreed upon goal is achieved. Who cares how it is accomplished, as long as it is accomplished with integrity and fairness?

So, as we think about this holiday and as we think about our professional and personal pursuits, let's give added weight to the word Liberty. After all, it has served us well as a country. Let it flourish in the workplace.

Now ask yourself... Am I a Leader?

Testing Our Integrity

As leaders, we are obligated to set the tone for the highest level of integrity. It doesn't matter whether we are leading a public company, private enterprise, not-for-profit organization, or governmental unit, we MUST set the highest level of standards and create a culture or environment that engenders recognition of these standards.

Our job is to step back, set the tone, and most importantly, establish the checks and balances that will ensure compliance with these high standards.

As a former chief financial officer, it makes me sick to see the recent examples of large corporate miscues, whether from Enron, Xerox, or WorldCom. One of the jobs of the CFO is to be the flag carrier for integrity and when he or she is involved in the orchestration of these dishonest acts, this individual has failed miserably in the performance of their job.

I don't expect CEOs to fully understand all the nuances of the accounting requirements - and God knows that many of these requirements can be technically challenging - but CEOs certainly need to be able to rely on their staff and other outsiders (auditors and lawyers) to ensure that the highest level of integrity is attained. More importantly, they need to have confidence in the system, the system of checks and balances, which will almost always catch miscues before they become damaging to the reputation of an individual or organization.

In business, we can earn money, we can lose money, and after we lose money, we can go back to earning money. But when it comes to reputation, we earn our reputation over many years, but we can lose it in one fleeting lapse of judgment. And, earning back respect is a long, rutted road.

As we think about our responsibilities, we need to focus on the value of integrity and work tirelessly each and every day to ensure that all those individuals who work with us feel as strongly as we do about its importance.  

Now ask yourself... Am I a Leader?