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Case Study 3: Creating a High Performing Values Based Culture and a Credible Leadership Team
The Challenge:
The executive leadership team of a 600 person manufacturing plant doesn't listen. AND, they don't live the stated values. Well, that's at least the perception that the middle managers, front line supervisors, and union personnel had. This perception created a “muted” atmosphere in meetings and truth and trust were low.
We knew that the senior leader was sincerely values driven and he believed that values appropriate behaviors were critical to the success of the plant. We knew that he was committed to changing the perception.
The solution:
We worked at all levels to recreate the values that were to define the way the people at the plant interacted on a daily basis. All levels were also involved in creating behavioral definitions for each of the values using our values template . However, we knew that unless the leader measured the values on a regular basis and held people accountable for the values, that behavior change was less likely. Leadership team members had a 360 values assessment baseline measure and a yearly measure thereafter to give them specific feedback on their behavior. Lastly, we created a “ reverse mentoring ” program for the executive leadership team. We paired them with committed individuals from different levels of the plant. The mentor's role was to help the executives see where their behaviors didn't match their intentions.
The Result:
The executive team's credibility soared. Evidence was found in the repeated 360 assessments, in the more open interactions witnessed at regular meetings, and in the employee morale assessments. One executive's statement sums up the process, “The reverse mentoring process was the single most positive thing that ever happened in my career.”
Transforming a Site to a High Performing Organization Based on