WHY IS THIS TOPIC IMPORTANT?

The Leadership Challenge focuses on how to be a successful leader. The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership^® presents five practices that individuals can put into action to bring out the best in themselves and those they lead. Kouzes and Posner have also identified Ten Commitments of Leadership that correspond to The Five Practices. Research proves that this content, when put into practice, builds more effective leadership skills, resulting in exemplary leaders. In addition, many Fortune 500 companies see a direct correlation between coaching and excellent leadership skills. This book is important because it ties together these two powerful competencies: The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership^® and coaching.

WHAT CAN YOU ACHIEVE WITH THIS BOOK?

This book offers you an opportunity to combine two exciting and practical concepts: leadership and coaching. It lays out the basics of Kouzes and Posner’s Five Practices and a failsafe coaching model. When the two are combined, it results in a powerful method to assist leaders to practice leadership skills for reaching excellence.

The purpose of this book is twofold:

• It provides trainers, consultants, and others working with The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership^® a reliable process to coach leaders.

• It provides coaches with an overview of The Five Practices as well as examples of what can be done to improve them.

HOW IS THIS BOOK ORGANIZED?

The book includes eleven chapters divided into two distinct parts. Part I, Coaching to Improve The Five Practices, is written for experienced coaches who have their own coaching process and are looking for ideas (questions, activities, books, or other resources) they can use with clients who have completed the LPI. Chapters 2 through 6 present of The Five Practices and introduce dozens of ideas to help a leader improve and increase the frequency of the behaviors that support each.

Part II, Improve Your Coaching Competence, provides an overview of coaching. It is written for someone who is familiar with The Leadership Challenge practices, but wants to learn more about coaching. Chapter 7 presents an overview of coaching, and Chapter 8 allows coaches, new as well as experienced, to assess and improve their coaching skills. Chapter 9 lays out a coaching process that takes a leader from feedback to success. Chapter 10 addresses what to do when things go wrong, and Chapter 11 helps coaches coach themselves to greater heights, providing ideas to improve their skills as well as knowledge about The Leadership Challenge concepts.

PART I

COACHING TO IMPROVE THE FIVE PRACTICES

CHAPTER 1: ACCEPT THE LEADERSHIP CHALLENGE

In This Chapter

• Overview The Leadership Challenge^® Model.

• Review The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership^® .

• Review The Ten Commitments of Leadership.

• Introduce how the Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI) supports The Leadership Challenge concept.

• Show the relationship between leadership and coaching.

• Present a way to use this book to coach others based on their LPI results.

Leadership and coaching go hand-in-hand. Both are relationship-based. The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership^® can easily describe the practices of an Exemplary Coach.

• A leader must Model the Way; a coach must be an excellent role model for leaders or other clients.

• A leader must Inspire a Shared Vision; a coach must co-create a personal vision with the leader.

• A leader must Challenge the Process; a coach must challenge the leader to try new behaviors and to hold the leader accountable to achieve results.

• A leader must Enable Others to Act; a coach must enable the leader, at times confronting a lack of progress, sustaining during setbacks, and encouraging choices.

• A leader must Encourage the Heart; a coach must express confidence in a leader’s ability and celebrate successful milestones.

As you can see there are many similarities. When we first envisioned this book, we imagined that there are

• Many individuals who want to be exemplary leaders but may not know how to develop themselves.

• People who have lots of knowledge about how to implement The Five Practices to be good leaders, but may not be sure about how to coach leaders who have busy schedules and may not have time to attend classes.

• Coaches who have lots of knowledge about how to coach others to improve their leadership skills, but who may not know about The Leadership Challenge, The Five Practices, or the Leadership Practices Inventory.

A Coach’s Guide to Developing Exemplary Leaders was born of these premises. The book addresses these needs.

WHAT DO LEADERS DO WHEN THEY ARE AT THEIR BEST?

The Leadership Challenge and all of its subsequent products are based on continuing research that started in 1983. We asked thousands of people to complete a Personal-Best Leadership Questionnaire, which was developed to learn what people do daily to rally their people and inspire them to work toward a common future.

We conducted our research with an assumption that turns out to be important: We did not have to survey only the best leaders in the best organizations to identify best practices. We assumed that we would find success patterns by asking ordinary people to describe extraordinary experiences. We were right.

After initial research, we developed a personal-best leadership survey of thirty-eight open-ended questions such as:

• Who initiated the project?

• How were you prepared for this experience?

• What special techniques and strategies did you use to get other people involved in the project?

• What did you learn about leadership from this experience?

Over a four-year period, we conducted almost six hundred of these surveys and started to implement a shorter survey. Since then we have expanded the research and collected thousands of additional cases, including community leaders, student leaders, church leaders, government leaders, and hundreds of others in non-managerial positions.

Every person we spoke with had at least one leadership story to tell—stories that were rarely textbook cases, but instead were about ordinary people who engage in what has come to be known as The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership ^®.

WHAT IS THE LEADERSHIP CHALLENGE MODEL?

The analysis of the personal-best surveys revealed an interesting phenomenon. Even though the individuals’ recollections of their peak leadership experiences were all different, all of them engaged in similar practices. We developed a model of leadership that consists of The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership^® we identified earlier:

• Model the Way

• Inspire a Shared Vision

• Challenge the Process

• Enable Others to Act

• Encourage the Heart

The research led us to write our first book, The Leadership Challenge, now in its fourth edition, and to develop a quantitative 360-degree instrument, the Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI), to measure the five leadership practices. The Leadership Challenge has sold over 1.5 million copies and has been translated into numerous languages. The LPI is one of the most widely used leadership assessment instruments in the world. More than three hundred doctoral dissertations and master’s theses have been based on The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership ^® model.

THE FIVE LEADERSHIP PRACTICES

Let’s review The Five Practices.

Model the Way

Leaders know that to gain commitment and to win respect they need to become exemplars of the behavior they expect of others. Excellent leaders need to identify and articulate their personal values—what they represent. People follow people, not words on paper, so leaders must demonstrate that they stand behind their values and demonstrate that they mean what they say with action. The principles that leaders establish, espouse, and live become the standards of excellence for others to follow. The leader who sets an example creates a situation making it easier to build consensus on shared values no matter what the climate. The excellent leader is clear about his or her values and principles because he or she asks for feedback about his or her actions.

Inspire a Shared Vision

A vision is not about a statement; it is about the shared dream of the future. Leaders envision the preferred future, creating an ideal image of the organization or project. They get others behind the vision by vividly expressing their passion. Leaders are able to bring their vision to everyone’s level, breathing life into other individuals’ hopes and dreams. This strengthens the individuals, strengthens the team, and strengthens the vision. When leaders believe that they can make a difference, others see that the vision can be for the common good of all involved. Excellent leaders incorporate the higher meaning of their work into the vision. This alignment helps others align with the team, the work, and the organization.

Challenge the Process

Leaders look for ways to improve processes, for better, faster, less-expensive ways to get the work done, and they encourage the strength of the team to do it. Leaders make certain that the improvement process has a strong chance of success by helping to develop a logical plan of actions and milestones that incorporates dates, goals, and accountability. Leaders challenge themselves to ensure that they grow and learn. They invariably must experiment and take risks on their way to innovative improvement ideas. This means, of course, that leaders learn from their mistakes and blunders as well as from their successes and triumphs, making it possible for the rest of their team to do the same.

Enable Others to Act

Leaders foster collaboration through the use of excellent interpersonal skills. Developing cooperative relationships, treating others with dignity and respect, and trusting people to do what they say they will builds individuals’ self-confidence and capacity to accomplish the team’s work. Leaders show respect for others when they consider diverse viewpoints. Leaders involve others in making decisions about how to do their work and they support the ultimate actions. These actions build cooperation across the team. When leaders empower individuals in this way, they ensure that people grow in their jobs, ultimately empowering the entire team.

Encourage the Heart

Leaders bring hope and satisfaction; they bring encouragement and support; and most of all they bring praise and appreciation. People will accomplish extraordinary things when they know someone cares and appreciates their dedication. Leaders recognize the contributions that individuals make; they celebrate the accomplishments that teams make. Leaders begin by showing confidence in individuals’ actions. They then continue by praising individuals for both a completed job as well as for achieving small increments along the way. They celebrate creatively, celebrate sincerely, and celebrate often.

THE TEN COMMITMENTS OF LEADERSHIP

Driving The Five Principles are The Ten Commitments of Leadership. It isn’t enough—not by a long shot—to list five principles that a leader will follow. The leader must also identify behaviors that support and demonstrate the principles on a daily basis.

Let’s briefly review each of these commitments and how leaders are able to demonstrate each.

THE TEN COMMITMENTS

Model the Way

1. Clarify values by finding your voice and affirming shared ideals.

2. Set the example by aligning actions with shared values.

Inspire a Shared Vision

3. Envision the future by imagining exciting and ennobling possibilities.

4. Enlist others in a common vision by appealing to shared aspirations.

Challenge the Process

5. Search for opportunities by seizing the initiative and by looking outward for innovative ways to improve.

6. Experiment and take risks by constantly generating small wins and learning from experience.

Enable Others to Act

7. Foster collaboration by building trust and facilitating relationships.

8. Strengthen others by increasing self-determination and developing competence.

Encourage the Heart

9. Recognize contributions by showing appreciation for individual excellence.

10. Celebrate the values and victories by creating a spirit of community.

1. Clarify values by finding your voice and affirming shared ideals.

Leaders must ask themselves, “What do I stand for? What are the principles that guide me in my day-to-day work and keep me here in this job, doing this work, and supporting these people?” Once affirmed, leaders must act out their values, demonstrating what they mean. One of their favorite actions is to engage people in a dialogue about shared values.

2. Set the example by aligning actions with shared values.

Leaders continue to demonstrate their ideas by aligning their actions in everything they do or say. Then they take actions to ensure that their team members understand what is expected of them and how to implement this commitment. When this is achieved the team’s unity leads to shared values. A leader can encourage this by reinforcing behaviors that are consistent with his or her espoused values.

3. Envision the future by imagining exciting and ennobling possibilities.

Developing the capacity to envision the preferred future is a skill that must be both modeled and taught to team members. The leader can reflect on the past, attend to the present, and consider the future, but the leader must also identify the burning passion that will carry the team into the future. Leaders must ask their team members what is motivating them to work toward the vision and to identify their aspirations.

4. Enlist others in a common vision by appealing to shared aspirations.

Leaders listen deeply for how to help team members find a spot for themselves in the future vision. They show team members how they have a role in achieving the exciting shared vision. Leaders create a vision that people can see when they use passionate, visual words that create a clear picture. Leaders must describe their vision and inquire about team members’ clarity and desire to take part.

5. Search for opportunities by seizing the initiative and by looking outward for innovative ways to improve.

Leaders keep their eyes and ears open to predict what’s on the horizon. This entails looking outside the department and outside the organization. It requires that leaders establish relationships and connect with many sources of information. It also means that leaders must bring their people along by helping them to identify the opportunities that may strengthen the team and the organization. Leaders challenge their team members to find new approaches to old problems.

6. Experiment and take risks by constantly generating small wins and learning from experience.

Experimenting and taking risks is the only path to making innovative improvement. This means that there may be false starts or errors along the way. Even so, leaders cannot give up the opportunities that come with innovation. Leaders can do two things to temper this dilemma. First, they can look to small wins as stepping stones to the ultimate goals. Second, they can celebrate the errors by identifying what the team learned.

7. Foster collaboration by building trust and facilitating relationships.

Leaders create a climate of trust and build relationships by making the first move. Leaders must trust their team if they want the team to trust; they must take steps to build personal interactions if they want the team to do the same. This means that the leader must get out and walk around, talking to team members, finding out about them, and genuinely being interested in them as people, not just as employees. Leaders need to find creative ways to get people to interact on both a personal and professional basis.

8. Strengthen others by increasing self-determination and developing competence.

Leaders develop self-confidence and competence. The two traits are self-perpetuating. The more competent team members are, the higher their self-confidence will be. The higher the team members’ self-confidence, the greater the likelihood that they will take a chance at increasing their skill sets. This is a win for everyone involved: individuals become better at what they do, the team becomes stronger, and the leader can increasingly rely on the team to achieve success.

9. Recognize contributions by showing appreciation for individual excellence.

Leaders have a winner’s attitude, that is, they believe that people are interested in doing their best in all they do. Thanking people for a job well done, sending a note of appreciation, recognizing someone for living the values—are all easy to do. However, building employees’ belief that they can achieve more tomorrow than they are achieving today is the big win for leaders and team members. Leaders find opportunities to sincerely show appreciation for team members’ accomplishments.

10. Celebrate the values and victories by creating a spirit of community.

Leaders bring people together to celebrate big and little wins. Celebrations perpetuate a corporate spirit of belonging to something greater than one’s own being. Leaders find opportunities for celebratory events. Celebrations that link rewards with performance are a powerful way to reinforce achieving the vision. Leaders are successful at this commitment when they find ways to have fun together as a team and make celebrations a part of the team’s atmosphere.

These Ten Commitments are more than an action list for aspiring leaders. They are a reminder of the commitment and the responsibility everyone has in the challenging position we call leadership. Leaders need to be aware of how well they are doing with their own leadership commitment. The Leadership Practices Inventory can provide that feedback.

HOW DOES THE LEADERSHIP PRACTICES INVENTORY SUPPORT THE LEADERSHIP CHALLENGE CONCEPT?

The Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI) is one of the bestselling and most trusted 360-degree leadership assessments available on the market. The instrument approaches leadership as a measurable, learnable, and teachable set of behaviors. This leadership assessment helps individuals and organizations measure their leadership competencies by providing a structured means of collecting and processing data based on The Five Practices.

Research shows that gathering 360-degree feedback is the first important step to improving performance and making behavior changes over time. The ratings are collected anonymously, with the exception of supervisor ratings, since most people have only one boss. The assessment of strengths and development needs is more reliable and valid because the individual receives input from multiple raters: him- or herself, supervisors, peers, direct reports, and others. Personal biases are significantly decreased by collecting feedback from individuals who have different relationships with the individual. Based on the collected data, the LPI delivers in-depth results with a detailed feedback report for each participant.

It is essential that the feedback report and scoring results be shared with the individual in a one-to-one or group setting that is led by a facilitator. The facilitator can assist individuals to:

• Make sense of the data and not become overwhelmed.

• Recognize the value and significance of the feedback and that their behavioral changes could make a difference.

• Trust that the feedback is both valid (it makes sense and results can be predicted based on other data) and reliable (statements are correlated and re-test results would be similar).

• Plan for the next steps.

The LPI Online has the ability to save data for future use so that leaders can compare their scores over multiple administrations.

Once individuals receive their feedback, they are ready for tools, techniques, and knowledge to begin to make changes and increase the frequency of behaviors identified on the LPI. The LPI helps individuals to discover their leadership potential by providing them with the skills to master The Five Practices. Individuals can improve their skills by working on their own, attending additional LPI training sessions, or working with a coach.

If participants are working on their own, they may wish to use two of the interactive Leadership Challenge products. One of the tools is a user-friendly LPI Participant’s Workbook that takes participants to the heart and soul of their feedback results. A second tool is the Leadership Development Planner that was created to use over several months of coaching sessions. There are also numerous books, such as The Leadership Challenge, Encouraging the Heart, A Leader’s Legacy, The Leadership Challenge Workbook, and Credibility, that will enhance knowledge.

A new tool, The Leadership Challenge Friday5s, provides the participants with an opportunity to follow up and further strengthen the lessons learned after any Leadership Challenge workshop. The ten-week, web - based program is a way for participants to apply their goals back at work. Friday5s provides bi-weekly updates that enable participants to reflect and document key actions and results towards goal completion. Friday5s delivers just-in-time content updates targeted toward the participant’s goal of focus, peer and manager coaching, and a community of practice with other participants who attended the online program. (The Friday5s program can be purchased through the Fort Hill Company, www.forthillcompany.com.)

If you are a facilitator or a coach, there are products for you to help leaders too, including facilitator’s packages and facilitator’s guides for The Leadership Challenge ^® Workshop and LPI Workshops. In addition, The Leadership Challenge Activities Book delivers more than one hundred activities that can be used in a classroom, online, or adapted to one-on-one coaching.

HOW TO USE THIS BOOK

In addition to the suggestions above, coaches using the LPI can turn to the rest of the chapters in this book for support. The book is divided into two distinct parts. Part I, Coaching to Improve The Five Practices, is written for experienced coaches who have their own coaching processes and are looking for ideas (questions, activities, books, or other resources) they can use with clients who have completed the LPI. Chapters 2 through 6 supply dozens of ideas to help your leader improve and increase the frequency of the behaviors that support The Five Practices.

Each chapter represents one of The Five Practices. It begins with a brief review of the practice, its two commitments, and its four essentials. Each of the six items in the Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI) that relate to the chapter’s practice are listed (items are numbered and listed in the order as they appear in the LPI to make it easy to locate). You, the coach, will determine which items to address based on your client’s feedback.

After each LPI item, you will find suggestions for:

• Questions you can ask your clients to initiate discussion or to delve into their philosophy about the practice and/or the LPI item.

• Activities created for a coaching situation. There are many more activities than you would ever use with one person. Work with your client to identify one that will be most useful. Even better, have your clients create their own after you present some possibilities.

At the end of each chapter we provide:

• A resource list that includes books, articles, websites, and blogs for you or your client to use.

• A section titled “How the Coach Models This Practice,” which serves as a reminder about what you must do to be a positive, proactive model for your client.

Remember, the value of these activities and discussion questions is not in the doing, but in the follow-on discussion with you, the coach. Be sure to allow time to discuss the “so what” and the “now what” that occur as a result of any discussion or activity.

Part II, Improve Your Coaching Competence, provides an overview of coaching. It is written for someone who is familiar with The Leadership Challenge^® Model, but wants to learn more about coaching. Chapter 7 presents an overview of coaching, and Chapter 8 allows coaches, new as well as experienced, to assess their coaching skills and to add knowledge and ideas for how to improve their skills. Chapter 9 lays out a coaching process that will show you how to take your leader from feedback to success. Chapter 10 addresses what to do when things go wrong, and Chapter 11 helps you coach yourself to greater heights by providing ideas to improve your skills as a coach as well as knowledge about The Leadership Challenge^® Model.

Coaching leaders is a noble task. The only thing this world needs more than excellent leaders is excellent coaches to rally, inspire, and accompany them on their journeys.

CHAPTER 2: COACHING TO MODEL THE WAY

In This Chapter

• Review the Model the Way practice.

• List the corresponding commitments.

• Identify the six LPI items that reference this practice.

• Examine potential questions and activities a coach could use.

• Provide additional resources.

• Consider how the coach could model this practice.

Exemplary leaders know that if they want to gain commitment and achieve the highest standards, they must be models of the behavior they expect of others. It all begins with leaders who effectively Model the Way. To model the behavior they expect of others, leaders must first be clear about their guiding principles. But leaders are not just representing themselves. They speak and act on behalf of their teams and a larger organization and must forge agreement around common principles and common ideals. Leaders set the example through their daily actions that demonstrate that they are committed to their beliefs. Exemplary leaders Clarify Values and Set the Example by aligning their actions with shared values.

CLARIFY VALUES

One quality of admired leaders stands out above all else: They have strong beliefs about matters of principle. They have, or had, an unwavering commitment to a clear set of values. They are, or were, passionate about their causes. People expect their leaders to speak out on matters of values and conscience. But to speak out, leaders have to know what to speak about. To stand up for their beliefs, they have to know what they stand for. To walk the talk, leaders have to have a talk to walk. To do what they say, they have to know what they want to say. To earn and sustain personal credibility, leaders must first be able to clearly articulate deeply held beliefs.

That is why Clarify Values is the first of the leader commitments. It is where it all begins. To become credible, leaders must first comprehend fully the deeply held beliefs—values, principles, standards, ethics, and ideals—that drive them. Leaders must choose the principles they will use to guide their decisions and actions and then genuinely express them. To Clarify Values, a leader must engage in these two essentials:

• Find his or her voice

• Affirm shared values

Find his or her voice. Values influence every aspect of our lives: moral judgments, responses to others, as well as commitments to personal and organizational goals. Values set parameters for the decisions we make every day. Values also serve as guides to action, informing us when to say yes and when to say no. Values are empowering and motivating, keeping us focused on why we are doing what we are doing. Once leaders have identified their values, they need to give voice to those values—express them in their own way. Just as a leader cannot lead out of someone else’s experience, he or she cannot lead through someone else’s values and words. Leaders have a responsibility to be conscious of the words they choose because these words send signals about how leaders view the world.

Affirm shared values. Shared values form the foundation for building productive and genuine working relationships. Leaders build on agreement. They don’t try to get everyone to be in accord on everything, because a leader does encourage diversity. However, recognition of shared values provides people with a common language, and tremendous energy is generated when individual, group, and organizational values are in synch. Commitment, enthusiasm, and drive are intensified. People have reasons to care about their work; they become more effective and satisfied and experience less stress. Employees are more loyal when they believe that their values are aligned to those of the organization. A unified voice on values results from discovery and dialogue. So although leaders’ being clear on their values is essential, it is insufficient alone. There must be agreement on the shared values that everyone will commit to uphold.

SET THE EXAMPLE

Leaders take every opportunity to show others by their own example that they are deeply committed to the values and aspirations they espouse. No one will believe leaders are serious until they see them doing what they ask of others. Leading by example makes visions and values tangible to others. This is the evidence that leaders are personally committed. Set the Example is all about execution. It is about practicing what a leader preaches. It is about following through on commitments and keeping promises.

Leaders can become the role models for what the whole team represents. They also create a culture in which everyone commits to aligning with shared values. There are two essentials necessary to Set the Example, one that’s focused on the leader and one that’s focused on the constituents. To Set the Example, a leader needs to:

• Personify the shared values

• Teach others to model the values

Personify the shared values. Every action a leader completes sends a signal. Each action affords the chance to show where a leaders stands on matters of principle. Exemplary leaders are mindful of the signals they send and how they send them. The clearest indicator of what is important to leaders is how they spend their time. Leaders who spend their time on the most important values send a strong message. Leaders also personify shared values through their language, using words that best express the culture they want to create. When leaders ask purposeful questions, they intentionally stimulate people to think more purposefully about values. Finally, leaders seek feedback. They ask about the impact of their behavior on others and value the feedback they receive. Each of these actions sends signals about how deeply leaders respect and represent their espoused values.

Teach others to model the values. It is not just the leader who is watched, but everyone else on the team as well. Therefore it behooves leaders to ensure that everyone’s actions are aligned with shared values. How can they do this? At least three key actions exist. First, leaders can confront critical incidents. They can respond to any disruptive occurrences. These critical incidents present opportunities for leaders to teach important lessons about appropriate behavior norms. Second, leaders can tell stories. When leaders publicly give examples of what team members do to live the values, they have an opportunity to use the “moral of the story” to help others understand how to model the values. And finally, leaders can reinforce any behaviors they want repeated. They can track and measure performance to determine consistency with the values and recognize, both tangibly and intangibly, the performance consistent with espoused values.

Model the Way means that the leader has stated what values are important; has, by example, aligned those values to actions; and has invited the team to share the same values. Leaders can begin this important work with a personal audit of how they spend their time, how they communicate, how they ask questions, and how they use storytelling. To summarize, Model the Way incorporates two commitments.

• Commitment 1: Clarify values by finding your voice and affirming shared ideals.

• Commitment 2: Set the example by aligning actions with shared values.

Model the Way is about earning the right and the respect to lead through direct involvement and action. People follow first the person, then the plan.

MODEL THE WAY: PRACTICE FOR THE LPI ITEMS

The following six statements refer to the items in the Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI) that relate to the Model the Way Practice. The numbers reference the item number in the LPI. These items are numbered and listed in the order as they appear in the LPI. This is done to make it easy to locate each item in this book; the order in which the items are discussed in this book does not suggest an order of importance. You need to determine, based on your client’s feedback, which items your client wants to work on and in what sequence.

After each item you will find suggested questions and activities. These are created for a coaching situation and may be used with the leader(s) you may be coaching. Several of the activities reference a “journal.” There is awn assumption that your leader will have a Leadership Challenge Journal or a personal journal in which to track plans, questions, and desires. A journal is an important tool for reflection on a leader’s journey to excellence.

Note: There are many more activities than you would ever use with one person. Work with your client to identify one that will be most useful. Even better, have your clients create their own after you present some possibilities. Remember, the value of these activities and discussion questions is not in the doing, but in the follow-on discussion with you, the coach. Be sure to allow time to discuss the “so what” and the “now what” that occur as a result of any discussion or activity.

At the end of this chapter you will also find a resource list that includes books, articles, websites, and blogs for you or your client to use. You will also find a section titled “How the Coach Models This Practice,” which serves as a reminder to you about what you must do to be a positive, proactive model for your client.

1. I set a personal example of what I expect of others.

Questions You Can Ask

• What do you think it means to “set a personal example”?

• What are your top three defining values?

• Imagine that you are setting the perfect personal example; what would it look like?

• How will you know what the expectations are?

• What do you wish leaders you’ve worked for in the past had done more? Less?

• Who can you relate to that is a good example of setting a personal example?

• Where do you think there might be a disconnect between what you say and what you do?

• Why should someone want to follow you?

• If your team could select its leader, would they choose you? Why do you think that?

Activities You Can Suggest

• Squeaky Clean Model: As a leader you must model the utmost integrity and professionalism. Tempted to pad your last expense report? Don’t do it. Laughed at the last off-color joke? Don’t do it. Smiled when someone used a stereotypical comment? Don’t do it. Told a white lie about why you forgot to do something? Don’t do it. The harm is not in each of the little things that may have tempted you. The harm is in fooling yourself that it’s okay. You need to model the highest level of integrity and professionalism for your team members. Setting an example is the most powerful act a leader can do. Besides, you have to live with yourself. This is an excellent topic for you to track in your journal.

• Quote to Ponder: Michelangelo said, “Trifles make perfection, and perfection is no trifle.” What does this mean to you? How do you translate this to your daily work, your philosophy, and the business you are in? What are the trifles that you deal with? How do these trifles lead to perfection? Which trifles do you need to set a personal example? How do you plan to do that? Make an entry in your journal. Remind yourself to review the answers to these questions next week after you’ve slept on it for a few days.

• Set an Example: Although the URL below leads to a demo movie for a DVD and book that is for sale from the Walk the Talk Company, it is worth your time. It is a powerful message if you want to always strive to be the best. The link, www.thenightingalemovie.com/preview/ leads you to a message from Earl Nightingale’s classic, The Strangest Secret. This recording earned the first gold record for the spoken word, with sales exceeding one million copies. Nightingale is known as the “dean of personal development.” How is this powerful message linked to setting an example for living the vision? How can you use this information as you Model the Way for others?

• Be from Missouri: As a leader you must lead by example. You influence your employees’ thoughts and behaviors—probably more than you think. Regardless of what appears in your job description or in employee handbooks, your behavior is the real performance standard your employees and team members will emulate. They will assume it is okay and appropriate to do whatever they see you do. This means that it is critical that you set the example. You need to model the behavior and performance you expect from others. There’s no magic here. It’s really quite simple—just pretend that you are from Missouri—the “show-me state.” Whether it is attitude, attendance, work ethic, or respect of others, simply show your team members what you expect them to do. Identify areas where you may not be the model that you would like your team members to follow. Then decide what you will do differently. At a future time you may wish to discuss your planned changes with your supervisor.

• Questions: For each of your core values, write three questions you can ask that will create discussions about the value.

• Audit Your Time: At the end of a typical week, using your paper or electronic calendar, complete an audit of how you spent your time. Ask yourself, “If someone were to look at my calendar and demand evidence that I am demonstrating in my everyday actions that what I say is important, would they find it? Are my espoused values showing up in what I do every day?”

• Create Your Story: Many people in an organization have a story about what the organization has done for them. Create your own story and be prepared to tell it to others in and outside the business.

• Define it: Meet with your supervisor or another key individual in your organization and ask him or her to define what it means to Model the Way. Ask for ideas for how this could occur naturally in the day-to-day work arena. Take good notes.

• Review The Five Practices: Schedule a series of five weekly meetings with your supervisor. Ask him or her to dedicate each meeting to one or two of the practices. During this time, create a discussion. Questions to get you started might include:

• What does this practice mean to you?

• What should I be doing on a day-to-day basis to model this particular practice?

• Can you provide me with some examples of what to avoid?

• What tips do you have for ensuring that my direct reports also live this practice?

• What feedback do you have for how I could do better in living according to this practice?

• Role Model: Be a role model for your values, even when you are not on the job. That’s the meaning of integrity—being the same person regardless of the setting. This benefits both you and the organization. Note the reasons why in your journal.

• Be Your Personal Best: The Walk the Talk Company has captured Vince Lombardi on tape. Using the link below, click either “watch this movie” or “play clip.” http://store.simpletruths.com/shared/StoreFront/default.asp?CS=simplet&StoreType=BtoC&Count1=939769923&Count2=856910347&ProductID=1209&Target=products.asp

The name Lombardi communicates such strong visions of excellence, discipline, commitment and, of course, winning. Even after his death in 1970, his famous speech, “What It Takes to Be Number 1,” has continued to inspire and motivate countless people. The Lombardi philosophy transcends football. His powerful words capture the fundamentals of success—in any sport, any business, or in any life. What is the message here for you? How does this thinking support your ability to set a personal example? How does it drive the business? How does it help you with all five practices?

6. I spend time and energy making certain that the people I work with adhere to the principles and standards we have agreed on.

Questions You Can Ask

• How do you interpret this practice? This item?

• How do you think your employees may have interpreted this question?

• How are you currently modeling this behavior?

• What do you think you need to do to shore it up?

• What’s not being said that needs to be said?

• If “ensuring that your people adhered to the principles and standard” was a service or product you were selling, what would you do to make it a best-seller?

• Why do you believe this is an important skill?

• Which principles and standards are people not living up to? Why is that?

Activities You Can Suggest

• Speak Up: When you see or hear someone who is not adhering to the standards, speak up. As a leader, you are obligated to not only live the vision and values, but to ensure that other do. Think back to times when individuals were not living the vision and values and you did not speak up. Perhaps you even chuckled at an inappropriate joke, nodded your head in agreement about a stereotype comment. Why didn’t you speak up? Were you embarrassed? Uncomfortable? Thought it wasn’t your job? Just didn’t think about it? Remember, if you want your people to live the vision most of the time, you need to live the vision all of the time. In the same vein, be sure to speak up when you see someone doing something well. Reinforce them. Corrections, though, should be made in private.

• Hold Yourself Accountable: Holding others accountable means that you hold yourself accountable first. Take one specific week to work on just this skill. At the end of each day, use your scheduler or your to-do notes to remind yourself of what you did. Create four columns on a page of paper. List your tasks, meetings, and phone calls in the first column. In the second column, write down all the things that you did that adhered to the standards. In the third column, write all the things that you could have added or done more/better with regard to the standards. In the fourth column, note any opportunities that arose where you could have done a better job of holding others accountable. They may be small things, such as someone who interrupted someone else and you did not make an attempt to correct the behavior. Understanding your own behavior makes you more aware of opportunities to hold others accountable for adhering to the standards. Take this activity one step further. Share it with your employees and ask them to repeat the same thing you did. Meet with each of them to learn about their results.

• Standards Review: Meet with your direct reports. Ask them to review the agreed-on standards with you. Ask these questions to start the discussion:

• What do our standards mean to you?

• What part of the standards do you need to understand better?

• How do you model the standards throughout the day?

• What makes it easy or difficult to adhere to the standards?

• How can I help you adhere to the standards more easily?

• Reward Adhering to the Standards: Encourage team members to reinforce other team members when they see them adhering to the standards and modeling appropriately. If possible, post their kudos on a central bulletin board.

• Create Legends: Identify one of more people in your organization who are modeling the shared values. Tell stories in meetings and other events about what they are doing to set the example for others.

• Today Versus Tomorrow: Focusing on today’s standards while maintaining focus on the vision and long-term goals is critical for a leader, but not easy to do. Meet with your supervisor to discuss this dilemma. You might start with these questions.

• How do I anticipate and plan for the worst- and best-case scenarios?

• How do I consider the potential consequences for all stakeholders?

• How accurately have I predicted and assessed potential risks and benefits this year?

• How well do I hold others accountable for adhering to the standards while achieving short-term goals?

• How well do I relate my direct reports’ goals and standards to living the vision?

• What have you noticed that I could do better to help my employees adhere to our standards?

• How can I improve my performance in these areas?

11. I follow through on promises and commitments that I make.

Questions You Can Ask