Phone Interviews Are No Longer Just a Skills Check

My association is hiring again, and this week I spent a lot of time doing a series of phone interviews.

The phone interview has always been a key part of my screening process. If anyone were to ask me, I would have said that I use the phone interview to screen for the skills I'm looking for, and then use the in-person interview to screen for values and cultural fit.

And this time, things started very much on that footing. My questions were very much about skills. The job I'm hiring for requires someone who can plan meetings, write good copy, organize fundraising campaigns, etc. Can you describe specific events in your job history that would demonstrate to me that you have those capabilities? My goal is always to get the person talking. Having done most of these tasks myself, I can usually tell when someone is speaking from real experience and when they are faking it. There are tell-tale words and phrases that reassure me that, despite what it may say on a person's resume, they've actually done the kind of work I would be asking them to do in my association.

But something new happened during this series of phone interviews. As I listened to each candidate give each response, I found myself listening for more than just the magic words about their skills. I started paying attention to the way they delivered their response as well: listening to their diction, their level of confidence, their level of ease in discussing themselves and their skills.

And I realized halfway through my series of calls that I should really be taking these elements into account as well. Usually, after speaking with a candidate, I would score them in each of the skills areas that I'm hiring for, total up their numbers, and bring the top scorers in for the in-person interviews. But now it seemed that these softer skills were relevant as well, and should be taken into consideration. Maybe the person with the perfect skill set but who sounded weak and vacillating on the phone shouldn't be called in. And the person with a less than perfect skill set but who sounded confident and capable on the phone should be.

My phone interviews are purposely held to no more than 30 minutes. But even in that short amount of time, you can get clues as to the things that make a person tick, how they approach challenges, and what it might be like to work with them in the office. From now on, I'm going to be thinking about these elements as candidates respond to my questions about their skills sets. And the ones that impress me, the ones that I think I might actually want to meet in person, and much more likely to get the nod even if their skills match is less than perfect.

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This post first appeared on Eric Lanke's blog, an association executive and author. You can follow him on Twitter @ericlanke or contact him at eric.lanke@gmail.com.

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https://www.inc.com/jeff-haden/how-to-ace-a-phone-interview-11-simple-tips.html

The Importance of Interviewing for Values

I interviewed a candidate for a position my association is looking to fill this week. I think I've written before about how interviews are one of those places where the values of an organization need to come into play, and my experience this week was a great illustration of why.

First a little background. My hiring process has evolved over the past several years -- in part to make sure an assessment of cultural fit became an important part of the process. When someone looks good on paper, and after confirming that their salary expectations are in line with what we plan to pay for the position, I'll first conduct a phone interview. The focus on this screening interview is almost entirely on career history and skills.

Where did you go to school? What did you study and why? Tell me a little about each position you've held. What did you do at each? What major things did you accomplish? Why did you move from place to place? What do you think your strengths are? What are you looking to do next?

Almost all of this is usually on a candidate's resume, but the point is to get the person talking about themselves, their skills, and their decisions. And all the time I'm listening. Does this person have the skills and experiences they need for success in this position?

If a candidate passes the phone interview, I'll ask them to come in for a face-to-face meeting. I've already decided that their skills are a fit, so in this second interview I turn my focus almost entirely to the culture and values of our organization, and whether or not the candidate is a fit there as well. And this is where I was with the candidate I interviewed this week.

After some ice breaking conversation, the questions in this second interview begin. Sometimes I go over the same ground as the phone interview, but now I'm listening for something entirely different. As the person begins to answer my questions, I try to turn the back and forth into a casual conversation. I'm less interested in the concrete answers to whatever questions I'm asking. I am much more interested in seeing if I can relate to the candidate, if I can envision interacting with them in a staff meeting, on an airplane traveling out to a conference, over a coaching lunch, or in a disciplinary discussion. How would this person, I mentally ask myself, conduct themselves as a member of my staff team, or in front of my board?

One way to turn the interview into a conversation is to invite the candidate to ask questions of their own. Most times, in fact, I find myself encouraging the candidate to ask as many questions as I am. I want dialogue, not just responses to questions. And it was one of the questions that the candidate asked me this week that practically stopped me in my tracks.

"Are there any aspects of my skills or experiences that you think are lacking?"

I quickly recognized it as one of those savvy questions that coaches tell candidates to ask of their interviewers. I'm supposed to answer it in one of two ways. I can either tell the candidate where their skills are lacking (which gives them crucial information about how to position the rest of the conversation) or I can admit that the candidate has no skills gaps relative to the position (which is supposed to implant the suggestion in my mind that I should really be hiring this person).

But, as with many things in life, there is a third path.

"No," I told the candidate flatly. "Your skills are a great match for the position. We wouldn't be having this second conversation if they weren't. But I'm no longer interviewing you for skills. I'm trying to figure out if your a good cultural fit for our organization."

In other words, you've passed the skills test, but there more to this process than just skills. And what was amazing to me was how much this admission threw the candidate off their game. I think the candidate thought they had the position locked up, and only suddenly realized that there was another series of tests that they needed to pass.

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This post first appeared on Eric Lanke's blog, an association executive and author. You can follow him on Twitter @ericlanke or contact him at eric.lanke@gmail.com.

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https://careers.workopolis.com/advice/interview-tips-how-to-prepare-for-the-most-common-types-of-interview-questions/

We're Number Two!

Something interesting happened this week. The office building where our association is located had a Halloween door decorating contest. For some of my staff people, Halloween is their favorite holiday so, with my full blessing and support, a small group came together and decorated our office door, intent on bringing home the prize.

And they did a great job. I should've taken a picture of it, but it showed a lot of creativity and fun. A giant grim reaper stood menacingly next to our office door, a zombie badged as our HR Director sat in a chair opposite, while plenty of signs, dripping with fake blood, were attached to the door, advertising available positions and proudly proclaiming our "death" benefits and the number of days since our last fatal accident (zero, in case you're wondering).

They had fun putting it together and we all had fun answering the door whenever the guy from UPS or Aramark Refreshment Services came calling.

Shortly after the decorations were in place, the building announced what the prizes would be for first, second, and third place, and, universally among our staff, it was decided that the prize for second place -- free bagels for the office -- was the most desirable. It was better than the third place prize, of course, but, strangely, it was also better than the first place prize -- at least in the eyes of my staff.

What happened next was predictable. Everyone started rooting for second place. They started checking out the competition, not hoping that none were better, but hoping, strangely, that one and only one was better. After putting out all that energy and creativity, people began hedging their expectations. Our office door looked great, but perhaps, and hopefully, it wasn't that good. Surely that one down the hall is better than ours. Don't you think?

From my point of view, these hedged expectations told an interesting story. My team came together with a shared purpose, they brainstormed and executed a coherent and creative plan, and knocked-it out of the park with the finished product. They had every right to expect to take home the top prize, yet, when informed what the prizes would be, and deciding that they'd rather have second place, they began to talk as if they had tried too hard. No one said these words out loud, but the feeling in the office was very much in line with regret that they had tried so hard in the first place.

That really hit home for me. When trying to incentivize behaviors, you need to make sure that the prizes offered match the effort folks are putting in. Offer a lackluster prize for coming out on top and you risk people calibrated their efforts for second place.

The story, however, has a happy ending. When the prizes were announced, we learned that our office had, in fact, come in second place. When this news broke, the sense of elation and joy was palpable within the office. We did it! We came in second! We're going to get the FREE BAGELS!!!

There's a lesson in there as well.

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This post first appeared on Eric Lanke's blog, an association executive and author. You can follow him on Twitter @ericlanke or contact him at eric.lanke@gmail.com.

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http://contestqueen.com/2015/second-place/

Talk About How You Will Live Your Values

It worked. There's not much more to say than that.

Last week, in Behaviors Are a Necessary Part of Values, I wrote about an upcoming discussion on values at my association's Board meeting. I said then that, in my experience, when it comes to values statements, there is actually something more important than choosing the right top-level words to describe your values. That you have to describe as accurately as possible the behaviors by which you'll know that the values are or are not being lived. And that my focus at the meeting was going to less on the words they wanted to choose and more on the Board table behaviors by which they will define them.

Well, now that discussion is in the past and that's exactly what we were able to do.

We started broad. Our outside facilitator laid some essential groundwork for the values that are most often associated with high-performance Boards and teams. But when it came time to discuss what those values might mean for our Board of Directors, we were able to shift the focus from the abstract concept of each proposed value to the concrete actions by which our Board either had or would like to live that value in practice.

Again, it's one thing to say that your Board members need to display Courage when they gather around the Board table. It's another thing to say that your Board members display Courage when they challenge each other's assumptions, when they speak up as a lone voice of dissent, and when they ask questions until they truly understand the stakes of each decision they are asked to make.

But here's the best part. When the Board meeting was over, and we were enjoying a quick and casual lunch before people began darting off to catch their flights home, more than one Board member said that it was the discussion on behaviors that made the critical difference for them.

I was worried, one Board member said in a comment typical of others. The information the facilitator presented was interesting, but I was suspicious of its value for us and our Board. But once we started talking about how we wanted to live those values, everything just clicked. This was one of the most useful conversations we've ever had around our Board table.

It was great. Our work on values isn't finished, but we've made a tremendous first step. And grounding the conversation in the behaviors that we wanted to exhibit made all the difference.

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This post first appeared on Eric Lanke's blog, an association executive and author. You can follow him on Twitter @ericlanke or contact him at eric.lanke@gmail.com.

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http://johnmcnamara.ie/2017/06/01/are-you-living-your-values/

Behaviors Are a Necessary Part of Values

I have a Board meeting this week, and a major part of the agenda will be discussing and defining the values by which our Board needs to operate if it is going to successfully govern our association and ensure the successful execution of our strategy.

It was not my idea to have this conversation (although I heartily support it). It was my Board chair who felt the discussion was necessary. From his view, the Board has the other two legs of its three-legged stool nailed. It understands its governance role and has developed a unified and effective strategy for the association. What it needs now is more intentionality about its culture and the values that define it.

As we've prepped the agenda we've looked at multiple culture systems and examples for Boards, for-profit and non-profit alike. We're actually bringing in an outside facilitator to guide our Board through this landscape, and help it select the words and definitions that make the most sense for it and its role in our organization.

It's been an interesting experience for me. A few years ago I guided my staff through a similar process: identifying the values that we needed to embrace at the staff level in order to better drive the success of our organization. We came up with some important words then; words like Leadership, Enthusiasm, Integrity, and Teamwork. Those are good words to frame your values around, and they may or may not be the right words for our Board. But when it comes to values statements, there is actually something more important than choosing the right top-level words to describe your values.

You have to describe as accurately as possible the behaviors by which you'll know that the values are or are not being lived.

It's one thing to say that your Board members need to display Courage when they gather around the Board table. It's another thing to say that your Board members display Courage when they challenge each other's assumptions, when they speak up as a lone voice of dissent, and when they ask questions until they truly understand the stakes of each decision they are asked to make.

Our staff values document is full of these behavior statements: observable actions that define the practical meaning of our values. Without them, the values are just words open to anyone's interpretation. Without them, our values statement has no clear purpose in our organization. Whatever direction it provides is unfocused and probably counterproductive.

So when my Board gathers later this week for its discussion, I'm going to focus less on the words they want to choose and more on the Board table behaviors by which they will define them.

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This post first appeared on Eric Lanke's blog, an association executive and author. You can follow him on Twitter @ericlanke or contact him at eric.lanke@gmail.com.

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https://planningengineer.net/culture-and-people-behavior-effect-on-working-environment/

Giving Core Values Teeth

I heard a great way for organizations to give their core values "teeth" at a recent conference I attended.

I've written before about some of the steps my association has taken -- using our core values as a screen during our interview process, and making alignment with our core values a part of our performance evaluation process. These are both important steps and they have helped make our core values something more than just "a plaque on the wall." But what the organization I learned about at the conference has done takes their values a step further.

They are also part of their performance evaluation process, but they are something more than just one performance category among many. They are, in fact, a "pass/fail" assessment that comes at the very front end of the performance evaluation.

If the employee in question passes, meaning that they consistently demonstrate behaviors that align with the core values of the organization, they go on to the other performance categories.

But if the employee in question fails, meaning that they consistently demonstrate behaviors that do not align with the core values of the organization, then they go no further with the performance evaluation. The misalignment issue with the core values must be dealt with -- either through the successful completion of an improvement plan or, in the worst cases, dismissal of the employee -- before the employee can be evaluated in the other categories, and receive any of the rewards and compensation incentives that go along with those categories.

It strikes me as an bold stand, putting real teeth into the core values adopted by the organization. It essentially makes alignment with those values the most important factor in determining both the compensation levels and continued employment of the people who work for it. Importantly, it also gives supervisors a tool for enforcing and rewarding that alignment. The system effectively says either you act in a manner that supports our core values or you leave our organization.

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This post first appeared on Eric Lanke's blog, an association executive and author. You can follow him on Twitter @ericlanke or contact him at eric.lanke@gmail.com.

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Values Can Take Time to Change Culture

It's been a while since I wrote about core values on this blog, but a thought occurred to me the other day that seemed like it was worth sharing.

My association has a set of core values (long story there; check out this index of posts if interested in reading more) and we now consistently use them in our hiring and on-boarding process. We interview not just for skills but for fit with our values, and we reinforce the importance of finding that fit by assessing the new employee after three months to determine if we got the fit right. We want people in our organization who walk and talk our values, and the 3-month review is an opportunity reinforce that commitment, provide helpful encouragement and feedback, and, if necessary, make a different decision.

We do these things because we believe that the values have the power to change our culture for the better, but only if we take them seriously in the hiring and on-boarding processes of the organization.

But here's the thought that occurred to me. Given the relative small size and stability of our organization, any culture change that results from this commitment to our values is going to take some time to manifest itself. Time not as in weeks and months, but more likely time as in years.

If you're looking for culture change solely as a result of baking your values into your hiring and on-boarding process, then by definition you'll need to do a lot of hiring and on-boarding before you can expect to see a lot of culture change as a result. If you have only a handful of staff positions, and only fraction of those turn over with any regularity, you'll have to find other mechanisms for those values to work their culture change potential on your organization.

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This post first appeared on Eric Lanke's blog, an association executive and author. You can follow him on Twitter @ericlanke or contact him at eric.lanke@gmail.com.

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http://tylermayforth.com/flipping-the-calendar-from-2015-to-2016/

Talking About Values

I had a rare treat this week. It's actually something that should happen a lot more frequently than it does. But in the rush to get all the "work" done, it's often something that takes a back seat.

I had a talk with a staff person about our organization's core values.

I mentioned last week that we were onboarding a new staff person at our association, and this sit down about our values with her and her supervisor is part of our regular orientation process. As I found myself sitting across the table from her, a couple of realizations occurred to me.

1. We should have had this conversation before we hired her.

I've come to believe that alignment with our values is more important than skill or knowledge sets when it comes to hiring new staff. It is more difficult to access the needed skills of someone who doesn't embody our values than it is to develop the needed skills in someone who does.

Recognizing this, we have tried to adjust our hiring process to screen for alignment with our values, but we haven't gone far enough. A couple of "what would you do in this situation" questions meant to tease out our values isn’t good enough. We need a whole interview session dedicated to our values, how they came to be, why they're important, and what the candidate will do to help the organization live them.

2. There's value in sharing the story of how our values came to be.

Understanding how our values came to be is just as important as understanding what they are. It's actually a story that illustrates the values themselves, as they weren't carved in stone and handed down from on high, but developed collaboratively by the people who now choose to live by them.

In doing so, our focus was neither to describe the values that currently existed (i.e., those things, good or bad, that were rewarded and reinforced within the organization), nor to copy the buzzwords in vogue at other, wildly successful organizations. Our values are ours. We chose them, not because we are able to live up to them every day, but because we believe trying to live up to them translates into success for our organization in our environment.

3. New staff people should be empowered to be part of this evolution.

And given that aspirational nature of our values, every new person coming into our organization is an opportunity to move the needle towards greater alignment with these goals.

New staff people should be given opportunities to demonstrate our values from day one, and given permission and support to call others out when they act in ways that contradict our values. Their mere presence on the team should be leveraged to prompt even more discussions about our values in the organization.

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This post first appeared on Eric Lanke's blog, an association executive and author. You can follow him on Twitter @ericlanke or contact him at eric.lanke@gmail.com.

Image Source
http://www.forbes.com/sites/chriscancialosi/2014/08/04/why-pivoting-shouldnt-influence-your-companys-core-values/#284a33196414

My Script for Reinforcing Our Core Values

Over the last few weeks I've been "working out loud"--translating the observable behaviors associated with my organization's core values into simpler "sixth grade" language. I'm doing this in the hopes that the behaviors will become more memorable. Memorable for my team, yes, but more importantly for me, who has an obligation to reinforce their important role in our organization by calling out instances in which people are and are not acting in accordance with them.

I've now translated the behaviors associated with all four of our core values (Leadership, Enthusiasm, Integrity, and Teamwork), 31 statements in all, and I've also further consolidated each list of "sixth grade" behaviors into common themes--actions based on the values and behaviors that would be preferrable in almost any situation we find ourselves in. There are two of these common themes for each value, yielding the following list:

1. Actions that seek to engage others, simply and clearly, in the work of the association.
2. Actions that demonstrate an awareness of our larger mission, and attempts to better connect our activities to it.
3. Actions that demonstrate a commitment to growth and development.
4. Actions that show enjoyment of the work.
5. Actions that address rather than avoid conflict.
6. Actions that humbly seek mutual growth.
7. Actions that demonstrate respect and consideration of others.
8. Actions that show an understanding of organizational objectives.

Looking at them now as a set for the first time, I see some obvious areas of commonality and overlap. #2 and #8 and clearly related to one another, as are #3 and #6. More subtly, I think #5 and #7 fall into a similar category, leaving only #1 and #4 as stand-alone ideas. A rewritten list may therefore look something like this:

1. Actions that seek to engage others, simply and clearly, in the work of the association.
2. Actions that demonstrate an awareness of our mission and objectives, and attempts to better connect our activities to it.
3. Actions that demonstrate a commitment to mutual growth and development.
4. Actions that show enjoyment of the work.
5. Actions that demonstrate respect for others, and a preference to tactfully address rather than avoid conflict.

I like this list, but believe that I will still be challenged to keep these five concepts at the forefront of my thinking. What started as an exercise in putting things in simpler language has again morphed into a series of statements that attempt to capture a fair amount of nuance.

I think what I need is a script. A short paragraph that embodies these ideas, but remains phrased in simple, everyday language. To draft one, let me think for a moment about what a workplace in which everyone consistently displays these five actions would look like. How would someone working in that environment describe their organization to others? Wouldn't they say something like:

"You know, I really enjoy working here. I know that the things I do are helping the organization grow and prosper. And the people I work with are great. We're always learning from each other and helping each other develop new skills. When there is conflict, we respect each other enough to address and resolve it. But the best part is working with our members. I love getting them more involved in the things we do."

I think I captured it all. Enjoyment of work, understanding one's connection to organizational mission and objectives, growing and developing together, respect and conflict resolution, and engaging members in the work of the association. I changed the order of the ideas, but they're all there. And now I have something that I think will be useful. Not only can I use it as a daily affirmation, a reminder of how I should be leading in the workplace I'm responsible for, I can also use it to prompt necessary conversations with staff members.

Because each statement in the script, when needed, can also become a question.

Do you enjoy working here? We have to start there. If someone isn't enjoying their job, then not much else is going to matter.

Do you know how the things you do help the organization grow and prosper? If not, we need to get clarity around that right away. Either I've not done my job in helping you connect those dots, or the things you're doing are no longer valuable. Either way, it's another foundational premise that must be understood if we expect to see any other kind of success.

Are you learning things from your co-workers? If not, why not? Ours is a culture focused on growth and development, and our co-workers are one of the richest sources of new information and new ways of looking at things that we have.

Are you addressing conflict when it arises? Maybe you didn't realize that it was your job to do that. Not rudely, but with the respect that every person deserves. Conflict is almost never about the people involved, it's about different sets of priorities and different ways of doing things. Working through conflict is one of the best ways to develop both a shared understanding of priorities and to leverage a wide diversity of talents and perspectives to get them done.

How are you helping to connect our members to the things we do? Because that's your job, too. But frankly, if you don't enjoy working here, or you don't understand how the things you do help us grow and prosper, I'm not sure I want you talking to our members. Assuming those bases are covered, start thinking about members that could benefit from your projects, reach out, and get them engaged.

Or words to that effect. A lot of that just came out stream-of-consciousness style, but there's enough meat there to reinforce for me the idea that this script, and the questions it begs, are a good way to start being more mindful of our core values, and to engage staff in fruitful discussions about how to embrace them.

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This post was written by Eric Lanke, an association executive, blogger and author. For more information, visit www.ericlanke.blogspot.com, follow him on Twitter @ericlanke or contact him at eric.lanke@gmail.com.

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http://www.halogensoftware.com/blog/reinforcing-organizational-culture-through-mindful-conversations

Values and Behaviors in Sixth Grade Language: Teamwork

I'm continuing my series of posts where I start translating the observable behaviors associated with my organization's core values into simpler "sixth grade" language. Doing so will hopefully make them more memorable--for my team, yes, but more importantly for me, who has an obligation to reinforce their important role in our organization by calling out instances in which people are and are not acting in accordance with them.

I've already tackled Leadership, Enthusiasm, and Integrity. Last up is Teamwork, which we define with the statement, "We work together to deliver exceptional service." It has seven observable behaviors associated with it, and here is a chart where I'm attempting to show a before-and-after comparison after applying the "sixth-grade" test to each one.

	TEAMWORK We work together to deliver exceptional service.
	BEFORE	AFTER
1	We understand and can describe how our work supports organizational objectives.	We know our part in the big picture.
2	We seek to understand our members, the world they live in, and the problems they face.	We understand our members' world.
3	We are responsive to inquiries, and are available when traveling or out of the office.	We make ourselves available.
4	We share information openly and proactively, demonstrating an understanding that our actions impact others.	We share before being asked.
5	We participate productively in team discussions, collaborating to determine the best ideas, helping to clarify needed actions, and respecting the role of the team leader.	We're good team members and good team leaders.
6	We take responsibility for our tasks and hold others accountable for theirs.	We do what we say we'll do.
7	We value and build long-term relationships.	We value our relationships.

Now, as I did with Leadership, Enthusiasm, and Integrity, I'm going to try and boil things down even more. Seven behaviors are going to be hard to remember and keep track of, no matter how simply they are described. As I look through the new list of Teamwork behaviors for common themes, I can see the following actions that would be preferable in almost any situation we find ourselves in.

1. Actions that demonstrate respect and consideration of others. Isn't this the very foundation of good teamwork? People who are selfish, or who only think about themselves, or only connect with others to the degree that it helps them accomplish their goals; they cannot in any way be described as a team player. By way of contrast, people who value the success that comes with teamwork think and act with an understanding of the team dynamics and their role within it. They share information, they keep their commitments, they act in ways that values not the short-term goal, but the long-term relationship.

2. Actions that show an understanding of organizational objectives. Acting in alignment with the bigger picture is absolutely vital. There is a certain amount of "top-down" communication that is required for this. For the staff to understand the organization's objectives, the CEO must communicate them. But success on those objectives only comes when that communication is met with a equal measure of "bottom-up" alignment. In other words, I can tell you what it is we want to achieve, and I can even suggest some ways that you can help us make that happen, but only you a align what you do with that overall objective. The first step is the mental buy-in. You must commit yourself to the task. But the second and more important step is the decision-making. What are you going to stop doing because it doesn't support our organizational objectives, and what are you going to start doing because it does? These are the actions that people who understand teamwork will take.

There. That's all four of our core values. Now, next week, I'll compare each value's short list of actions and start looking for even more consolidation.

Stay tuned.

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This post was written by Eric Lanke, an association executive, blogger and author. For more information, visit www.ericlanke.blogspot.com, follow him on Twitter @ericlanke or contact him at eric.lanke@gmail.com.

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Values and Behaviors in Sixth Grade Language: Integrity

I'm continuing my series of posts where I start translating the observable behaviors associated with my organization's core values into simpler "sixth grade" language. Doing so will hopefully make them more memorable--for my team, yes, but more importantly for me, who has an obligation to reinforce their important role in our organization by calling out instances in which people are and are not acting in accordance with them.

I've already tackled Leadership and Enthusiasm. Next up is Integrity, which we define with the statement, "We act with honesty and professionalism in all our relationships." It has eight observable behaviors associated with it, and here is a chart where I'm attempting to show a before-and-after comparison after applying the "sixth-grade" test to each one.

	INTEGRITY We act with honesty and professionalism in all our relationships.
	BEFORE	AFTER
1	We have a calming influence in stressful situations.	We keep things calm.
2	We are tolerant and understanding of people’s differences.	We accept others for who they are.
3	We treat people with respect independent of their role or disagreement with us.	We respect others.
4	We listen to other perspectives, and focus on resolving rather than blaming.	We solve problems together.
5	We address conflicts openly and with tact, directly with the people concerned.	We seek to resolve conflict.
6	We speak with candor, saying what we think even if it is controversial.	We share what we think.
7	We concede when we don’t know something, are receptive to constructive criticism, admit our mistakes, and are the first to apologize.	We need others to help us improve.
8	We question actions that are inconsistent with our values.	We help others live up to our values.

Now, as I did with Leadership and Enthusiasm, I'm going to try and boil things down even more. Eight behaviors are going to be hard to remember and keep track of, no matter how simply they are described. As I look through the new list of Integrity behaviors for common themes, I can see the following actions that would be preferable in almost any situation we find ourselves in.

1. Actions that address rather than avoid conflict. When it comes to professionalism, this may be the granddaddy of all possible behaviors. Acknowledging that it is one of the most difficult things to do in any relationship--business or personal--it is still the undeniable hallmark of professionalism. When conflict is creating a barrier to progress or success, the person with integrity will calmly, tactfully, and respectfully address the actual issue with the people involved. And if those people have the same commitment to integrity, they will recognize what the instigator is doing and embrace a productive process of resolution.

2. Actions that humbly seek mutual growth. People with integrity know that they are not perfect. They also know that the people around them are not perfect, either. And they know that these imperfect people are functioning in an imperfect system. With all of these barriers and limitations, their response isn't selfish. It isn't focused on their own growth and rewards at the expense of others. Their response is fundamentally humble. They need to grow and so does everyone else around them. If there is a way for everyone to do that openly and together, then that is going to add the most value to themselves, their relationships, and the organization.

That's as far as I'm going this week, and I'm going to tackle the remaining value in a similar fashion before coming back to compare each value's short list of actions for even more consolidation.

Stay tuned.

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This post was written by Eric Lanke, an association executive, blogger and author. For more information, visit www.ericlanke.blogspot.com, follow him on Twitter @ericlanke or contact him at eric.lanke@gmail.com.

Image Source
http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/integrity.htm

Values and Behaviors in Sixth Grade Language: Enthusiasm

I'm continuing my series of posts where I start translating the observable behaviors associated with my organization's core values into simpler "sixth grade" language. Doing so will hopefully make them more memorable--for my team, yes, but more importantly for me, who has an obligation to reinforce their important role in our organization by calling out instances in which people are and are not acting in accordance with them.

I've already tackled Leadership. Next up is Enthusiasm, which we define with the statement, "We are excited about growing as individuals and about growing the organization." It has eight observable behaviors associated with it, and here is a chart where I'm attempting to show a before-and-after comparison after applying the "sixth-grade" test to each one.

	ENTHUSIASM We are excited about growing as individuals and about growing the organization.
	BEFORE	AFTER
1	We identify gaps in our knowledge and skill set, and take actions to correct them.	We want to learn.
2	We look for and accept new challenges.	We push ourselves.
3	We are willing to experiment and try new ways of doing things.	We try new things.
4	We apply gained knowledge and openly share the results.	We teach others.
5	We bring energy and fun to the workplace.	We have fun.
6	We care intensely about our success, celebrating wins big and small.	We want to succeed.
7	We inspire others with our positive attitude, enjoying the journey as well as the goal.	We like our work.
8	We display tenacity, pursuing the course of action and identifying the resources necessary to do the job right, and asking the questions necessary to get root causes.	We don't give up.

Now, as I did with Leadership, I'm going to try and boil things down even more. Eight behaviors are going to be hard to remember and keep track of, no matter how simply they are described. As I look through the new list of Enthusiasm behaviors for common themes, I can see the following actions that would be preferable in almost any situation we find ourselves in.

1. Actions that demonstrate a commitment to growth and development. There may be no simpler way to say it. Enthusiastic people are always looking for ways to improve their knowledge and skills. And the process that is determining what work to do and doing it provides them with the ideal setting for that growth and development. Those who always stay within their comfort zone can be reliable performers, but they won't open themselves or their organizations up to the kind of breakthrough developments that are increasingly needed for success. Figure out where you can improve and pursue it in the context of the work you do.

2. Actions that show enjoyment of the work. And have fun doing it. Enthusiastic people don't succumb to the drudgery or the difficulty of the tasks that must be performed. To them, the journey is just as much fun as arriving at the destination. They have an intense desire to succeed, but they're going to make sure they have fun getting there.

That's as far as I'm going this week, and I'm going to tackle the remaining two values in a similar fashion before coming back to compare each value's short list of actions for even more consolidation.

Stay tuned.

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This post was written by Eric Lanke, an association executive, blogger and author. For more information, visit www.ericlanke.blogspot.com, follow him on Twitter @ericlanke or contact him at eric.lanke@gmail.com.

Image Source
http://teamfamilyfitness.com/the-three-es/

Values and Behaviors in Sixth Grade Language: Leadership

Five months ago, I concluded a short series on this blog in which I self-examined the core values of my association through the lens of six rules for living your organization's values, which were authored by a successful executive of a pharmaceutical company. In the concluding post to that series, I identified a handful of actions I planned to take; things I believed would help me and my organization better live the values we had defined.

One of those actions was a commitment to phrase our values--and the observable behaviors associated with each that would help us understand when we were living up to them--in simple, sixth grade language. Doing so, I said, would make them more memorable--for my team, yes, but more importantly for me, who had an obligation to reinforce their important role in our organization by calling out instances in which people were and were not acting in accordance with them.

Well, it's five months later, and I haven't yet made good on that commitment. I've meant to. Multiple times. It's been on my to-do list, and I've sent myself numerous reminders, but I haven't yet forced myself to sit down on do it.

Until today, that is.

Here's the way I figure it. As long as I'm already taking an hour or so each week to think about and write one of these blog posts, and as long as one of the purposes of this blog is to "work out loud," a reflective and community-engaging analysis tool that helps me do my job better, than what better idea could there be than to do the work here, leveraging the time I'm already dedicating to this task. So, here goes.

Our first core value is Leadership, which we define with the statement, "We lead the organization in creating new value for our members." It has eight observable behaviors associated with it, and here is a chart where I'm attempting to show a before-and-after comparison after applying the "sixth-grade" test to each one.

	LEADERSHIP We lead the organization in creating new value for our members.
	BEFORE	AFTER
1	We are concise and articulate in our speech and writing.	We are brief and to the point.
2	We minimize complexity, and look for efficiencies that can be shared across the organization.	We keep things simple.
3	We bring purpose and understanding to complex and uncertain environments.	We find paths for others to follow.
4	We engage others in iterative processes that result in higher levels of value and engagement.	We engage others in our work.
5	We think strategically, make wise decisions despite ambiguity, and act with intention.	We think about the big picture.
6	We challenge prevailing assumptions, suggest better approaches, and create new ideas that prove useful.	We try new things and keep what works.
7	We exhibit a bias towards action, and avoid analysis-paralysis.	When uncertain, we act.
8	We take smart risks, learn from our mistakes, and share lessons with others.	We take risks and share our mistakes.

Okay, you caught me. I did some of this work in a previous blog post. But I have made some refinements since then. And I am going to tackle one of the other three values in each of the next three weeks.

Reviewing my work on Leadership, I think I need to boil things down even more. Eight behaviors are going to be hard to remember and keep track of, no matter how simply they are described. But the simple language does make it easier to identify common themes, and from those common themes, I think I can begin to see a very short list of actions that would be preferable in almost any situation we find ourselves in.

For Leadership, that short list of actions might be:

1. Actions that seek to engage others, simply and clearly, in the work of the association. Leaders do this effortlessly. They tear down barriers to engagement and shine a light on the path people need to travel to find value. Their communications are brief and to the point, and the steps they ask people to follow logically flow from one to the next. Drafting a Board meeting agenda, selecting speakers for a conference, providing resources through a website--whatever the task, the goal is the same. Make it easy for people to connect to the value we're providing.

2. Actions that demonstrate an awareness of our larger mission, and attempts to better connect our activities to it. Leaders take risks, but those risks are always tempered by honest attempts to fulfill a larger purpose. A risk that has no potential of contributing to the mission is not worth taking, and actions that only serve the needs of a certain segment may not provide the leverage an organization needs for sustainability. New courses of action are to be encouraged, especially when the way forward is unclear, but people must be able to explain how the new action serves our mission, or multiple stakeholders.

I could go on in each of those areas, but I think that's all I'm going to do this week. It may be better to tackle the remaining three values in the same fashion, and then come back and compare the different short lists for even more consolidation.

Stay tuned.

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This post was written by Eric Lanke, an association executive, blogger and author. For more information, visit www.ericlanke.blogspot.com, follow him on Twitter @ericlanke or contact him at eric.lanke@gmail.com.

Image Source
http://blog.hellersearch.com/blog