How - Dov Seidman [141]
There is a touch of inspiration in all these concepts. Values-based self-governance relies on structures and rhetoric that speaks to people. It speaks the language of should rather than can. Inspiration comes from holding a set of beliefs, and we all want to believe in what we do. This is why values-based self-governance provides such an outstanding model for the future. It calls us forth to marry our highest goals and aspirations to how we do what we do each day.
THE CASE FOR SELF-GOVERNING CULTURES
If values become the engine of culture, self-governance provides the scaffolding that allows everyone throughout the hierarchy to embrace and put into operation those values daily in everything that they do. Different subunits, like the various specialties at Methodist Hospital System, can internalize those values in ways that are specific to their form and function; global businesses can extend horizontally across borders, open back-room operations to embrace and collaborate with new partners, and diversify in myriad ways while maintaining the integrity of their missions; and the myriad combinations of freelancers, consultants, full-timers, telecommuters, and other thinly bound people who make up the workforce of today can align more tightly around common values. Since values provide a stronger, more adaptable navigation system than do rules and procedures, values-based self-governance provides a system that allows an organization to grow, adapt, mutate, and evolve in the marketplace without losing sight of its core mission or straying too far from its chosen path.
Cultures stay healthy only if they pursue and stay true to their missions, a purpose beyond themselves, a noble mission. Culture means journey. Because cultures are alive—growing and changing as they adapt to challenge and celebrate success—they are in a constant state of becoming. To embrace the notion of doing culture, then, means to accept that you are on a journey, every day, to build stronger connections with those around you. Embracing the importance of self-governance—that how your group interrelates begins with you and HOW you do WHAT you do—is the first step on that journey.
You don’t need a memo from headquarters that says “We are now a self-governing company” to begin to change the culture around you. You can begin by getting your HOWs right, by extending and engendering more trust, by being more actively transparent, by aligning more closely with group values and acting from those values in everything you do, and by defining your journey—whether it be laying bricks or managing a team—as one with a mission greater than success. Pursuing a noble mission can take you—and your organization—on the journey from WHAT to HOW, from rules to values, from defense to offense, from informed acquiescence to self-governance, from brand awareness to brand promise, and from a road to success to a journey of significance that should (in the J&J Credo sense), in turn, beget success.
CHAPTER 12
The Leadership Framework
We are what we repeatedly do.
Excellence, therefore, is not an act, but a habit.
—Aristotle
We have probed in great detail the fundamental influences that fill the spaces between us. We’ve considered HOW we think, HOW we behave, HOW we govern ourselves as groups, and HOW the world has changed to put new emphasis on these ideas. If you agree with the view I have presented, you no doubt have already begun to notice the HOWs around you through a different lens (unless you’ve read this through in a single sitting). Perhaps you have noticed how something the boss said set off voices in you that you recognized as distracting, or perhaps you noted some dissonant messages coming from your work group. Perhaps you reexamined an e-mail you received or sent and took an extra moment to think about how it affected you or would affect another person. Maybe you were treated at a store in a way that made you feel richer or poorer for the experience, and you began to think about why, or that there