Management and Leadership – Leadership Lessons from the United States Naval Academy: The Honor Concept
“Midshipmen will not lie, cheat, or steal, nor will they mislead or deceive anyone as to known facts. A midshipman will be truthful, trustworthy, honest and forthright at all times and under all circumstances.
Midshipmen are presumed to be honorable at all times and to possess moral integrity in the fullest sense and will be treated accordingly, unless they prove otherwise by their words or actions.
Midshipmen should neither permit nor accept anything which is not just, right, and true. They should do the right thing because it is right, not because of fear of punishment.”
The Honor Concept
United States Naval Academy
It is the privilege of professional executives and managers to lead the men and women of their organizations toward the achievement of mission goals. As such, these leaders are responsible for acting with the utmost integrity, leading in both a moral and ethical manner. Doing so promotes trust, accountability, and group cohesion; forming the foundation of high team effectiveness.
Of all the leadership lessons instilled in midshipman at the United States Naval Academy, none is more important than that of the Honor Concept. Indeed, none has shaped and defined my life, my way of being, more than the Honor Concept.
Ethical leadership is deliberate, embodied by a leader’s every word and deed and not limited by time or place. The ethical leader is known for his/her personal integrity, respect for others, and commitment to doing what is right, regardless of the consequences.
The midshipman’s Honor Concept needs no translation or interpretation. It is an elegant, simply stated set of personal and organizational values. While there cannot be enough said about the importance of the Honor Concept to executive, manager, and employee performance, it is a universal truth that without honor, without integrity, no one or organization can be truly successful.
Final Thoughts…
Integrity forms the foundation of every trusting relationship, without it teamwork breaks down. Individuals, not knowing whether or not they can rely on those they work with, become more and more self-reliant, self-serving, and self-focused in their efforts. Over time, success of the group becomes secondary to personal success. Efficiency declines as an ever increasing amount of effort is expending on follow-up, reminders, and, at times, pleading for work to be done; particularly if it does not directly benefit the individual performing it.
The strategy driven organization is one of individual and collective integrity. As such, the Honor Concept’s core principles are embedded within the StrategyDriven principles and best practices and their absence reflected in the warning flags. Practices, processes, and behaviors explicitly representative of these principles are contained within the many Organizational Accountability and Diversity and Inclusion posts found on the StrategyDriven website.
Sign up for our Email NewsletterManagement and Leadership – Leadership Lessons from the United States Naval Academy: the Five Basic Responses
As a midshipman at the United States Naval Academy, I learned several powerful leadership tools that convey confidence, competence, and responsiveness; ultimately enhancing my and the organization’s effectiveness at getting things done. One of these tools is the midshipman’s Five Basic Responses:
- Yes/No, Sir/Ma’am
- I’ll find out, Sir/Ma’am
- No excuse, Sir/Ma’am
- Aye, aye, Sir/Ma’am
- The right answer
Powerful words that while not often used verbatim in the business world, convey a strong desire to maximize ones value to the organization. Examining each more closely reveals how this is accomplished.
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Management and Leadership – Presenting and Maintaining the Professional Image of a Leader
Presenting and maintaining a professional image is one of the most important aspects of leadership. Simply put, if you want others to follow you, you must project the image of a leader, an authority figure with the qualifications to make the correct and tough decisions… a professional.
Here are five basic guidelines that will help you to build and maintain the image of a professional leader in the workplace:
- A professional leader dresses the part.
- A professional leader has integrity.
- A professional leader treats others with respect.
- A professional leader seeks input from others, and then makes an informed decision.
- A professional leader follows reason, not emotions.
Dress the Part
The first impression most people will have of you will be based on your appearance. A professional leader will always dress appropriately for his/her position. In the business world, (unless you work for Apple), professional attire is considered to be a suit and tie for men and a pant or skirt suit for women. Even if you worked until midnight the day before, you must always show up for work neat and clean. If you cannot take care of yourself at home, you will never be entrusted to take care of a business.
As important as the impression you make with your appearance is the one you make with your words and conduct. To succeed, you must not only look professional, but you must act professional as well. The remaining guidelines speak to your words and actions.
Have Integrity
Having integrity means doing the right thing, even when no one is looking. Conducting yourself in an ethical manner is habit forming and contagious. As a leader you have an example to set. Let others know that doing what is right will be rewarded, unethical practices will be punished, and that you ‘practice what you preach.’ Hypocrisy is not professional.
Treat Others with Respect
Treating others with respect involves talking to them as equals, regardless of their job or title. Be courteous. A simple ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ will make the difference between a difficult interaction and a comfortable conversation.
As a leader you will need to coach others on their performance. Except in rare circumstances, you should coach in private and praise in public. Coaching someone in front of others will almost always harm your reputation. You run the risk of being viewed as ‘power tripping,’ or as someone who puts others down to build yourself up. While this may not be the case, you are dealing with people who have their own egos to bruise. Others’ impressions of you will affect team moral and performance.
Additionally, coaching in public often does not have the desired result of correcting a mistake or a wrong practice. The individual being coached will often focus their attention on the embarrassment they are feeling in front of their coworkers and not on the message you are trying to deliver.
Praising an employee in public has several benefits. First, the employee being praise will feel good about his/her performance and his/her recognition, which should translate into continued positive results. Second, observers will be motivated to do well in the hopes of receiving similar recognition. You will also be viewed as the effective leader who can guide a team to achieve positive results.
Seek Input from Others and Make an Informed Decision
A true professional is not intimidated by the ideas of others, rather, he/she will embrace them. You may be presented with a whole new way of approaching a situation or tackling a problem. You will also instill confidence in your employees that you are open to their thoughts and views, and that you are making truly informed decisions based on all the information available. You will also benefit from the strong lines of communication you create by encouraging dialogue.
Follow Reason, Not Emotions
It is difficult to make sound decisions when you are angry or frustrated. Your choices may not be sound if you are making them when you are angry. At that moment, you may also be focusing (although unconsciously) on achieving the wrong goal of shooting down your colleague’s argument or proving your own point and not on what is best for the team. While a colleague’s actions may make you furious, your first reaction may make the situation worse. Take a professional approach by stepping away from the heated situation, collecting your thoughts and formulating an informed response. If you are in public, choose to take your discussion somewhere private. Remember, getting the last word will not project a professional image, keeping your cool will.
Remember…
The professional image of a leader is not made over night. Once it is created it must be maintained and it cannot be faked. If you practice these steps, chances are you will project the image of a professional leader… because you will be one.
Lucas D. Ives is a training consultant at Verizon Wireless and a StrategyDriven contributor. A dynamic facilitator, he excels at creating and delivering captivating training focused on the business professional. To read Lucas’s complete biography, click here.
Management and Leadership – Conflict Resolution: What Your Actions and Reactions Say About You
“Nothing gives one person so much advantage over another as to remain always cool and unruffled under all circumstances.”
Thomas Jefferson
President of the United States of America (1801 – 1809)
Conflict in the workplace is a fact of life. We are all human and, whether it is intentional or unintentional, conflicts with others will arise. How you handle conflict says a lot about you. A person who keeps their cool is more likely to be respected than one who looses it when wronged by another.
Reacting to conflict by turning defensive, raising your voice or being condescending or insulting in any way, will project the image that you cannot rationally handle difficult situations. Think of handling a conflict with an individual the same as you would handle a drop in sales, loss of production on the assembly line or a costly engineering defect. The way you conduct yourself in a personal conflict is a reflection of how you will conduct yourself in any one of these other situations. Your potential for advancement may be affected as will the respect of your peers and subordinates.
So how do you avoid this pitfall? There are four basic rules of conflict management that will keep you from reacting to conflict in a way that will only hurt you in the long run. They are:
- Pause to analyze the situation
- Consider whom you need to convince
- Weigh the outcome of your action or inaction
- Make a smart decision
An Illustration
The application of these rules may be best illustrated by the following story:
Larry, a consultant at a widget manufacturing plant was given the task of documenting the widget making process from beginning to end. He finished his first draft of the material and sent it off to Kiel, the floor supervisor, to review and sign off on the documentation.
A week had passed and Larry had not received a response from Kiel, so he sent a polite e-mail to remind Kiel that the document needed to be reviewed and the due date was approaching. Just a minute later, Kiel sent Larry an e-mail that made no reference to the previous two Larry sent, but simply stated that there had been a change in procedure so that step 3 had been eliminated. Realizing that Kiel could not have reviewed the original material in the minute that had elapsed between his and Kiel’s e-mail, Larry replied by saying, “I will eliminate step 3 just as you said. Please review the rest of the material that I sent you and let me know if there are any other changes you would like made.”
After a few more days had passed with no reply from Kiel, Larry followed up with an e-mail stating, “I have made the change you requested by eliminating step 3. Are there any other changes you would like me to make before finalizing this document?”
The next day, Larry received an e-mail from his manager which read: “Kiel said that he told you to eliminate step 3 in your document and you did not. The material he forwarded to me still includes this step. Please explain.”
Larry felt the urge to call his manager and explain to her that Kiel was an idiot who didn’t read his e-mail. He even thought of telling Kiel this directly, but instead he decided to apply the four basic rules of conflict management.
Pause to Analyze the Situation
It was apparent that Kiel did not read the e-mails Larry had sent (at least not very carefully). If he had, he would have known that Larry did eliminate step 3 and requested a review of the rest of the material before finalizing it. When Kiel finally looked at the documentation, it still contained step 3 because it was the first draft of the material.
What was worse than not reading the e-mails was Kiel’s action of e-mailing Larry’s manager directly. Mistakes happen and e-mails get overlooked, but by going over Larry’s head, Kiel had damaged the relationship they had and future projects would be negatively impacted. This could have been avoided if Kiel had simply called or e-mailed Larry and asked about the update, eliminating step 3.
Consider Whom You Need to Convince
While Larry still needed the rest of the document to be reviewed by Kiel, it was his relationship with his manager that was most important in this situation. Larry needed to reassure his manager he was not in the wrong. He also wanted to let her know he was mature enough to handle this situation in the most professional manner possible.
Weigh the Outcome of Your Action or Inaction
Occasionally a conflict will arise that can simply be overlooked. You bump into a co-worker in the hallway and they scream at you to watch where you’re going. Or your manager, clearly frustrated, asks why you haven’t delivered the monthly report yet and you reply that it was turned in two days ago, (and she discovers it under a stack of papers on her desk). In these situations, inaction is the best response. Otherwise you may either make the situation worse or appear condescending. If the situation will blow over quickly and there are no negative repercussions, it is usually best to ‘let it go.’
However, Larry’s situation required action. Again he needed to mend his image with his manager and he still needed Kiel to review the document. The question was, what action should he take to accomplish these goals without over-reacting.
Make a Smart Decision
This step will vary widely, based on your particular situation. Suffice it to say, if you have followed the first three rules, you have allowed yourself some time to calm down and come to a more rational decision.
In Larry’s case, he forwarded the e-mail chain to his manager with the following statements:
- “I believe there has been a miscommunication. I have eliminated step 3 as requested and asked Kiel for his review of the rest of the material before finalizing it. Once the remainder of the material is reviewed and the document finalized this project will be complete.”
- “On a personal note, this situation seemed to cause some tension with Kiel. Communication being key to the success of our business, I would like to ask your advice. Is there anything you would have done differently, had you been in my position, to avoid this tension?”
While Larry hadn’t done anything wrong, he was open to the possibility that there may have been a better way to communicate with Kiel in this situation. Even if there wasn’t a better way, his approach had several positive effects.
- Larry’s manager could see very clearly from the e-mail chain that Kiel was in the wrong. However, by not pointing fingers, Larry demonstrated that he is interested in getting the job done, and not in placing blame.
- Larry also demonstrated to his manager a desire to learn from difficult situations and he showed his ability to act calmly and rationally in such situations. Larry demonstrated that he was mature and professional, even when others were not.
The Outcome
Larry’s manager assured him that he acted correctly and that this ‘miscommunication’ on Kiel’s behalf would be resolved.
Kiel finished the review and never went over Larry’s head again, (probably for fear of looking foolish). From that point on, whenever Kiel had a question or misunderstanding he called Larry and they always worked it out to their mutual benefit.
The moral of this story is: if you take the time to apply the four basic rules of conflict management before reacting to a conflict, you are more likely to resolve the situation and you will better your standing in the long term as well.
Lucas D. Ives is a training consultant at Verizon Wireless and a StrategyDriven contributor. A dynamic facilitator, he excels at creating and delivering captivating training focused on the business professional. To read Lucas’s complete biography, click here.
Management and Leadership – Coaching for Exceptional Performance
“There is a reason why constructive criticism is a good thing and criticism is not.”
Lucas Ives
Principal Contributor
StrategyDriven
The best leaders are those whose employees perform well because they want to, not because they are forced to. This may be based on those employees’ work ethic, or it may be because their leaders inspire them. Chances are that it will be a combination of both, however, it is certain that anyone who manages through fear or intimidation is a leader in name only. Real leaders are both respected and respectful, regardless of job title.
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