Contrary to many leadership and management books in the marketplace, organizational vision, values, and strategic planning should not be developed from the community or constituency at large. In fact, the exact opposite is true.
Let me explain.
Organizational vision and values do not come from the bottom up; they go from the top down. For years CRG has taught that the primary purpose of privately held businesses is not to make money, but to serve the purpose of its owners. Of course being profitable is important but if the business does not reflect the vision or values of the owner, why bother?
It was not until recently that I truly understood the magnitude and accuracy of our statement. For years, I have conducted strategic planning for small-to-medium-sized businesses including key executives and managers in the development of an organization´s vision and values.
I am here to tell you that the team approach to vision and values development is wrong! It misleads team members into believing they in some way contribute to this process—when in fact, they should not!
Right or wrong, organizational vision and values must reflect the vision and values of the key leader or leader(s).
Why do so many business partnerships dissolve or break down? Because the vision and values of each of the partners are unique. It is not about one individual being right and the other being wrong; they are simply different people. The reality is that two different visions and competing values can not coexist.
By including teams in the vision and values process of a privately held business, we are doing them a disservice by suggesting that their values influence the end result. That simply is not true.
Here is a personal example.
Two years ago, CRG conducted a team-development session where the group defined the primary values for CRG. At the end of the process, I did not relate to over half the values the team had identified.
I recently became conscious of the fact that the CRG team that had established those values had changed. Those individuals were no longer with the company. The only constant was me—and my core values were not being represented.
What are the implications when you are the sole owner of the organization and the primary values and purpose articulated by the team are not supported by the leader? The condition is not sustainable.
The primary contributor to past CRG disagreements was values conflicts, not relationship conflicts. In a quantum shift of thinking, I realized the core vision and values must only come from the leader.
Several years ago, prior to my purchasing CRG, the company had multiple partners and owners. Team meetings—with sharp, capable individuals in attendance—tended to be burdensome and nonproductive. Why? Because of the conflicting values of the numerous partners! No one was right or wrong; we were simply different. We falsely believed we had a team-development issue. In the end, our various values resulted in the disbanding of the partnership.
Why would we knowingly put ourselves through that pain? Because for years, consultants—including myself—suggested that the vision and values process had to include all the stakeholders.
In his book Good To Great, Jim Collins suggested that vision be established after key people are in place. This recommendation has merit only in public companies or large nonprofit organizations—and even then with limited application.
Do you think for one minute Warren Buffet changed his approach or values because his team thought he should?
Think about sports teams. When they change management or head coaches, what usually happens? They clean house and change the guard so that the leader has team members with like-values and approaches. Even in large multinational companies, the vision is typically driven by the CEO; when the CEO changes, so do the vision and values.
Managers and teams are there to support and fulfill the vision and values of the owner or senior leader. It is not the team´s responsibility to establish the values. If team members´ values are contrary to the organizational vision and values, those individuals will move on. However, the leader must have team members who aligned with the organizational vision and values otherwise they will not feel connected either.
A team´s responsibilities are similar to the work of interior designers or architects. It is their job to interpret your vision and preferences into reality—not to produce an end result that reflects only their taste and preferences.
In the end, someone must be in charge. Most team decision-making and consensus do not work.
This approach does not preclude the presence of a strong team culture or chemistry after everyone is clear about where the organization is going. But you can count on, that vision will not change when the team members do. |
