 "<b>Book Extract</b>: CEO character can impact employees")
RETURN ON CHARACTER: THE REAL REASON LEADERS AND THEIR COMPANIES WIN
Author: Fred kiel
Publisher: Harvard Business Review Press
Price: Rs 1,250
ISBN: 9781625271303
What do employees want? Well, you should know. That's because in all likelihood, you are an employee. Even if you're the CEO of a global multibillion-dollar enterprise, you still work for someone. So ask yourself, "Do I look forward to going to work each day? Am I motivated to do my job as well as I possibly can? Am I treated with respect - as a person, not an object? Do I matter to the organization?" I would be surprised if anyone reading this wants to answer no to these four questions. That's because the questions revolve around the universal human desires for pride and satisfaction, and their answers lie at the heart of what drives workers - at any level - to be engaged in the success of the organization they work for.
Surveys show that employees of the strong-character CEOs - the Virtuosos - and those of the Self-Focused CEOs rate their sense of pride and satisfaction in the work they do and the organizations they work for.
Comparisons between the responses of these two groups show that the employees of Virtuoso CEOs reported higher levels of both workplace pride and satisfaction than did those of the Self-Focused CEOs. These two emotional responses to the workplace play a critical role in determining workforce engagement, which in turn plays a critical role in driving business performance and results. Now let's look deeper into these findings to form a clearer understanding of the people and organizations whose work-lives they reflect.
Better employee engagement, better RoC
Bob Chapman is one of the CEOs in the ROC study who really gets it when it comes to making the connection between an engaged and well-cared-for workforce and organizational success. Chapman is the CEO of Barry-Wehmiller, a $1.5 billion global industrial equipment firm headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, with over seven thousand employees in sixty-five locations worldwide. This privately held company states on its website, "Building great people is our business," and that idea lies at the heart of the leadership model the company uses to train members of its executive team.
It's difficult to state with 100 percent certainty that this people-centric model is the primary reason why Chapman's business is so successful, but it certainly is successful. As Chapman told a group of MBA students in one of his lectures, "Our year-over-year compounded return to investors has exceeded the performance of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway." He added, "In addition to our focus on building great people, we also have built a great business."
I first met Chapman for breakfast at a hotel restaurant near his office. Over the next two hours, he told me the story of how he came to realize that he could, and should, build a people-centric business. Chapman had flown to South Carolina as the new owner of a company his group had just taken over. He began the day by sitting down with the company's employees as they had a pre-workday cup of coffee, and he immediately was struck by how much fun they were having talking about the upcoming basketball games of March Madness. "After the coffee time was over," Chapman told me, "I went from the experience of seeing how much fun people were having to a meeting with the customer service group, and they did not appear to be happy." Chapman had an idea: "Out of my mouth came the words, 'Good morning. We're going to play a game. You will win as the team wins." Chapman went on to outline a way of working that was structured along the lines of a good-natured, team-oriented competition - an approach he hoped his employees would find both challenging and fun. "They had dozens of reasons why it wouldn't work," he admitted, "but I had an answer for every one of them." Chapman had seen how animated and engaged these people could be, and he was determined to create a culture and environment that would trigger that level of workforce engagement. "That was the turning point," he explained.
Reprinted from Harvard Business Review Press. Excerpted from Return on Character: The Real Reason Leaders and Their Companies Win. Copyright 2015 Fred Kiel. All rights reserved.
Author: Fred kiel
Publisher: Harvard Business Review Press
Price: Rs 1,250
ISBN: 9781625271303
What do employees want? Well, you should know. That's because in all likelihood, you are an employee. Even if you're the CEO of a global multibillion-dollar enterprise, you still work for someone. So ask yourself, "Do I look forward to going to work each day? Am I motivated to do my job as well as I possibly can? Am I treated with respect - as a person, not an object? Do I matter to the organization?" I would be surprised if anyone reading this wants to answer no to these four questions. That's because the questions revolve around the universal human desires for pride and satisfaction, and their answers lie at the heart of what drives workers - at any level - to be engaged in the success of the organization they work for.
Surveys show that employees of the strong-character CEOs - the Virtuosos - and those of the Self-Focused CEOs rate their sense of pride and satisfaction in the work they do and the organizations they work for.
Comparisons between the responses of these two groups show that the employees of Virtuoso CEOs reported higher levels of both workplace pride and satisfaction than did those of the Self-Focused CEOs. These two emotional responses to the workplace play a critical role in determining workforce engagement, which in turn plays a critical role in driving business performance and results. Now let's look deeper into these findings to form a clearer understanding of the people and organizations whose work-lives they reflect.
Better employee engagement, better RoC
Bob Chapman is one of the CEOs in the ROC study who really gets it when it comes to making the connection between an engaged and well-cared-for workforce and organizational success. Chapman is the CEO of Barry-Wehmiller, a $1.5 billion global industrial equipment firm headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, with over seven thousand employees in sixty-five locations worldwide. This privately held company states on its website, "Building great people is our business," and that idea lies at the heart of the leadership model the company uses to train members of its executive team.
It's difficult to state with 100 percent certainty that this people-centric model is the primary reason why Chapman's business is so successful, but it certainly is successful. As Chapman told a group of MBA students in one of his lectures, "Our year-over-year compounded return to investors has exceeded the performance of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway." He added, "In addition to our focus on building great people, we also have built a great business."
I first met Chapman for breakfast at a hotel restaurant near his office. Over the next two hours, he told me the story of how he came to realize that he could, and should, build a people-centric business. Chapman had flown to South Carolina as the new owner of a company his group had just taken over. He began the day by sitting down with the company's employees as they had a pre-workday cup of coffee, and he immediately was struck by how much fun they were having talking about the upcoming basketball games of March Madness. "After the coffee time was over," Chapman told me, "I went from the experience of seeing how much fun people were having to a meeting with the customer service group, and they did not appear to be happy." Chapman had an idea: "Out of my mouth came the words, 'Good morning. We're going to play a game. You will win as the team wins." Chapman went on to outline a way of working that was structured along the lines of a good-natured, team-oriented competition - an approach he hoped his employees would find both challenging and fun. "They had dozens of reasons why it wouldn't work," he admitted, "but I had an answer for every one of them." Chapman had seen how animated and engaged these people could be, and he was determined to create a culture and environment that would trigger that level of workforce engagement. "That was the turning point," he explained.
Reprinted from Harvard Business Review Press. Excerpted from Return on Character: The Real Reason Leaders and Their Companies Win. Copyright 2015 Fred Kiel. All rights reserved.
| MEET THE AUTHOR: Fred Kiel |
| |
- For more than 30 years, Kiel has helped Fortune 500 CEOs and senior executives build organisational effectiveness through leadership excellence
- He has advised individuals who have become CEOs of complex businesses, most with multi-billion-dollar top lines. His data gathering and customised developmental process provide executives with transformative feedback
- Kiel has served on the boards of several philanthropic organisations, including Family Institute and Graywolf Press
Fred Kiel
founder, KRW Interntional
founder, KRW Interntional