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Transform Your Business Culture and Reap Rewards
Paul Orfalea, the founder of Kinko's, was an incredibly talented
entrepreneur and exceptional leader during his tenure with the giant
document copying chain that still bears his nickname on the sign
(FedEx Kinko's). He knew that the secret to success was sharing
opportunities for wealth and building a work culture that was entirely
based on valuing people. This mindset reveals one of the most powerful
keys to success: a positive work culture built through
transformational leadership.
But what is transformational leadership, and how does it work?
Transformational leadership is about being authentic, having the
courage and optimism to let go and trust, and creating an environment
in which people strive to do their very best. Babson College professor
Allen R. Cohen echoed this perspective when talking about the
leadership skills required in the 21st century: "More than ever,
leaders need both to be authentic and to put on a brave face, to
appear confident that there is a way out of difficult situations, yet
not be seen as faking it. At all levels of the organization, this
rather contradictory combination of toughness and tenderness will be
expected."
Orfalea was fond of asking store managers, "Who is really the boss
in this building, you or the people that report to you?" This
rhetorical question was based on the insight that if you treat
employees like gold, they will do the same for your customers. The
cultural environment means everything, and is the key to growing your
business. For Kinko's, this transformational approach to leadership
was so successful, that by the time the company celebrated its 25th
anniversary, the business had grown from one small store in Isla
Vista, California, into a global corporation with annual sales
exceeding $2 billion dollars.
You don't have to be a large corporation to gain the benefits of a
workplace culture based on mutual respect and cooperation. And, you
certainly can learn from the experience of such corporate giants as
the Microsoft Corporation who is reaping the rewards of
transformational leadership.
Upon her arrival in 2003, Tanya Clemons, Microsoft Vice President
of People and Organization Capability, launched a research project to
answer the following questions:
- What kind of company do we want to be in 10 or 15 years?
- Which businesses will we want to be in?
- What type of organization will we want to be?
- What kind of culture will we want to have?
- What is the employee value proposition that will continue to
make Microsoft the destination for top talent?
Based on the answers, Microsoft established core leadership skills
and behaviors that now provide the basis for selecting, developing,
and promoting talent at all levels of leadership and is the foundation
of a corporate culture that aligns leadership ability with a long-term
vision.
A small or mid-sized business also benefits from a similar
self-examination and can apply the knowledge gained to create its own
winning culture. In many ways, women business owners who because they
generally juggle multiple life roles are more open to sharing
responsibility are natural transformational leaders. So, have the
courage to be tough and tender, to trust your employees and to nurture
their potential. The rewards will surely follow.
References
Cohen, A. R. (Ed.). (2002). The portable MBA in management (2nd ed.).
New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Gruys, M., & Sackett, P. (2003). Investigating the dimensionality
of counterproductive work behavior. International Journal of Selection
and Assessment, 11, 30-42.
House, R. J., & Mitchell, T. R. (1974). Path-goal theory of
leadership. Journal of Contemporary Leadership, 3, 81-97.
Pillai, R., Schriesheim, C., & Williams, E. (1999). Fairness
perceptions and trust as mediators for transformational and
transactional leadership: A two-sample study. Journal of Management,
25, 897-933.
About the Author
Robert Schaefer, vice president of Client Services at Steinbrecher And
Associates, Inc., has more than 14 years of experience helping
companies align learning solutions with critical company strategies
that achieve desired business results. His experience in both the
design and implementation facets of training management adds
significant benefits to clients in the areas of needs analysis,
efficiency modeling, learning retention, statistical analysis, and
capture of the return on investment (ROI) of a learning program. One
of Robert's specialties in training systems design is the ability to
deliver a customized, affordable, and cutting-edge solution that
matches the client's unique culture to the specific learning needs.
About IHCL
The Institute of Heart-Centered Leadership was established to support
your organization's journey toward excellence in leadership. You make
a significant effort and spare no expense in recruiting and selecting
the very best management talent available. Our goal is to assist you
with obtaining the highest value from this critical investment. For
more ideas and business case information contact us at:
info@instituteofhcl.com
www.instituteofhcl.com
817-268-3650
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