![Das a Culture Problem: Leadership Lessons from the Volkswagen Scandal]()
Leadership, People
Over the last few weeks, news about Volkswagen’s deceptive emissions practices has sent shock waves around the world. Since the scandal broke last month, CEO Martin Winterkorn resigned, its stock price has plummeted, and the company is facing a tsunami of legal trouble. Das a culture problem?
It will take years to sort out the blame and economics of the case. Long before the dust settles though, we can be certain about three important lessons from this developing case study:
1. Culture rolls downhill. Volkswagen’s mistakes stem from toxicity in the culture, and culture always starts at the top. CEO’s cannot be expected to know everything, but they are ultimately responsible for the behaviors and practices of everyone on their watch. As leaders, we send loud and clear signals to the culture by what we measure, what we reward, and what we ignore.
2. Short-term focus skews judgment. VW’s focus was clearly on short-term profits. A maniacal, short-term focus is not a sustainable model. Sustainability requires resilience. Deceiving regulators and consumers may have served the company’s immediate needs, but it compromised the world’s trust in the company’s products. Trust that will take years to re-build.
3. A 1-degree error can put you miles off course. Leadership advisor and avid pilot Dieter F. Uchtdorf warns, “Suppose you were to take off from an airport at the equator, intending to circumnavigate the globe, but your course was off by just one degree. By the time you returned to the same longitude, how far off course would you be? The answer might surprise you. An error of only one degree would put you almost 500 miles off course.” Massive ethics violations can start with a one degree slip in judgment.
Just three months ago, Volkswagen made front page news by surpassing Toyota as the world’s largest auto maker. Today, the headlines warn of massive financial retrenchment and raids by prosecutors. Like Volkswagen, leaders in similar organizations were highly competent individuals who achieved unprecedented success. But a drive for growth at all costs is a certain path to a case study in leadership failure.
Question: What signals do you send to your culture by what you measure, what you reward, and what you ignore?
![Das a Culture Problem: Leadership Lessons from the Volkswagen Scandal]()
People
A few weeks ago, I introduced the PULSE© coaching model that I use to help clients get their lives back in balance. Last week, I wrote about the first letter in the acronym – “P” for paradigm. This week I’m writing about the second letter in the acronym – “U” for unearth.
Imagine an archaeological dig that unearths treasures that have been buried for years. I did some research about archaeological excavation and discovered the following interesting facts:
Archaeological material would, to a very large extent, have been called rubbish when it was left on the site. It tends to accumulate in events. A gardener swept a pile of soil into a corner, laid a gravel path or planted a bush in a hole. A builder built a wall and back-filled the trench. Years later, someone built a pig sty onto it and drained the pig sty into the nettle patch. Later still, the original wall blew over and so on. Each event, which may have taken a short or long time to accomplish, leaves a context. This layer cake of events is often referred to as the archaeological sequence or record. It is by analysis of this sequence or record that excavation is intended to permit interpretation, which should lead to discussion and understanding.
Our life becomes our own archaeological sequence. All you need to succeed already lies within you. Now it’s time to unearth it and reclaim it.
You already have treasures that lie within you. You have strengths, character traits, and gifts that only you possess.
Sadly, many times these are hidden or buried. Perhaps they were visible and used at one time but due to circumstances or insecurities they got put away. Tragedy may have caused them to be buried.
Your life is a series of events that leaves a context. Each layer or event has made you who you are today. The exciting thing is that the strengths and character traits you possess are still present. The precious gifts that lie within you don’t disappear. They may become squelched or hindered but they still exist.
There was a time in my own life when I began to lose sight of my own talents and strengths. It’s often easier to believe a lie about yourself that you’re not strong enough or good enough or that you will ever succeed. It’s not enough to just push through those times. It is imperative to have a specific plan in place. We need to learn new tools and behaviors that allow us to dig deep and tap into that strength that is inside each and every one of us.
My passion is to empower clients to move past self-limiting barriers and begin to live the life they are meant to live. When you choose to live in truly active manner instead of always reacting to situations around you that’s when the real magic happens.
Are you ready for the next step? Use the contact form on my page and let’s chat about this exciting coaching journey together! https://execexcellence.wpengine.com/team/jenny-jacobs/
For over a decade Jenny Jacobs has studied the principles of healthy living, life balance, stress management, positive psychology, and self-development. Jenny is a dynamic speaker, coach, and blogger and is passionate about helping people integrate their personal and professional selves.
Driven by the premise that excellence is the result of aligning people, purpose and performance, Center for Executive Excellence facilitates training in leading self, leading teams and leading organizations.
![Das a Culture Problem: Leadership Lessons from the Volkswagen Scandal]()
People, Uncategorized
Last week, I introduced the PULSE© coaching model that I use to help clients get their lives back in balance. This week, I’m writing about the first letter in the acronym – “P” for paradigm. My passion is to empower clients to move past self-limiting barriers and begin to live the life they are meant to live. When you choose to live in truly active manner instead of always reacting to situations around you that’s when the real magic happens.
And now it’s time to… get unstuck and shift that paradigm!
What is a paradigm? The dictionary definition of paradigm is: a typical example or pattern of something; a model.
Origin: 1475–85; < Late Latin paradīgma < Greek parádeigma pattern (to show side by side)
What does that mean exactly? How does this apply to my life?
Everyone has an “internal” paradigm – a set of beliefs, a particular way of looking at things, or a reason we feel a certain way about certain things. You can almost always justify your paradigm in your own mind. Perhaps you have gone through unimaginable tragedy, loss, or hurt. Perhaps you feel as if you don’t matter or that you have no control over what happens in your life. However, your paradigm can often cause you to be judgmental, jaded, or angry. An out-of-balance paradigm may cause you to become bitter or feel like you are never good enough or that you will never accomplish anything. You become stuck and unable to move forward.
That’s when it is time for a paradigm shift.
The following is my favorite illustration of a paradigm shift by Dr. Stephen R. Covey in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People:
I remember a mini-paradigm shift I experienced one Sunday morning on a subway in New York. People were sitting quietly — some reading newspapers, some lost in thought, some resting with their eyes closed. It was a calm, peaceful scene.
Then suddenly, a man and his children entered the subway car. The children were so loud and rambunctious that instantly the whole climate changed.
The man sat down next to me and closed his eyes, apparently oblivious to the situation. The children were yelling back and forth, throwing things, even grabbing people’s papers. It was very disturbing. And yet, the man sitting next to me did nothing.
It was difficult not to feel irritated. I could not believe that he could be so insensitive as to let his children run wild like that and do nothing about it, taking no responsibility at all. It was easy to see that everyone else on the subway felt irritated, too. So finally, with what I felt was unusual patience and restraint, I turned to him and said, “Sir, your children are really disturbing a lot of people. I wonder if you couldn’t control them a little more?”
The man lifted his gaze as if to come to a consciousness of the situation for the first time and said softly, “Oh, you’re right. I guess I should do something about it. We just came from the hospital where their mother died about an hour ago. I don’t know what to think, and I guess they don’t know how to handle it either.”
Can you imagine what I felt at that moment? My paradigm shifted. Suddenly I saw things differently, and because I saw differently, I thought differently, I felt differently, I behaved differently. My irritation vanished. I didn’t have to worry about controlling my attitude or my behavior; my heart was filled with the man’s pain. Feelings of sympathy and compassion flowed freely. “Your wife just died? Oh, I’m so sorry! Can you tell me about it? What can I do to help?” Everything changed in an instant.
How do I shift my paradigm?
Through one-on-one coaching you will learn how to shift your paradigm from being judgmental of both yourself as well as others by viewing situations through a difference lens. There are ways to hold yourself to a higher standard without beating yourself up and feeling like a failure if you’re not perfect. There are things in life we can control and things we cannot. It is imperative to differentiate between these circumstances to truly achieve a balanced paradigm.
Are you ready for the next step? Use the contact form on my page and let’s chat about this exciting coaching journey together! https://execexcellence.wpengine.com/team/jenny-jacobs/
For over a decade Jenny Jacobs has studied the principles of healthy living, life balance, stress management, positive psychology, and self-development. Jenny is a dynamic speaker, coach, and blogger and is passionate about helping people integrate their personal and professional selves.
Driven by the premise that excellence is the result of aligning people, purpose and performance, Center for Executive Excellence facilitates training in leading self, leading teams and leading organizations.
![Das a Culture Problem: Leadership Lessons from the Volkswagen Scandal]()
Leadership, People
According to the 2015 Edelman Trust Barometer, trust in institutions is evaporating at an alarming rate. For 15 years, Edelman has measured trust in 27 countries. This year, trust in government, business, media and NGOs is less than 50%. CEO credibility declined for the third straight year to just 31%.
Interestingly, these stats represent institutions and business leaders in developed countries. It’s enough to make us stop and think, “Just how developed are leaders of the 21st century?” Is it time for a trust reset? If so, where do we begin?
We can choose to focus on events in 2014 that contributed to the results — the spread of Ebola, foreign exchange rate rigging by six global banks, and the data breach at Sony Pictures. But when we focus on the macro level, we can quickly become overwhelmed. We may think that what we do as individuals doesn’t matter in the big picture. The truth is that trust matters, and it starts with us.
In his book The Speed of Trust, author Stephen M.R. Covey states that trust has become the key leadership competency of the global economy. He argues that rebuilding trust at the macro level starts with each individual. Like a ripple in a pond, trust begins within each of us personally, continues into our relationships, expands into our organizations, and ultimately encompasses our global society.
Turning the trust lens from outward to inward requires us to take a hard look at ourselves. If you think you’re ready, download this self-trust diagnostic to see how you would score.
If there is room for improvement in your score, consider making changes in these three key areas:
1. Do I fulfill commitments to myself and others? In our fast-paced, information overload world, we’ve become accustomed to overpromising and under delivering. But, when we don’t follow through with our commitments, we lose credibility with others and respect for ourselves. Before you make any commitment, ask yourself these questions: 1) Is this a commitment I really want to make? 2) Will I follow through with this? Pause and reflect, then commit, deliver and repeat.
2. Do I walk my talk? When we share half-baked ideas or say things we don’t really mean, we lose personal credibility. People won’t believe the message if they don’t believe the messenger. Make sure your actions match your words and beliefs. Lead by example, modeling for others through consistency, competency and communication.
3. Do I extend trust to others? As a leader with responsibilities for business outcomes, it can be hard to extend trust to others. Yet, when we micromanage and fact check, we send the message to our team that they can’t be trusted. Over time, we can end up leading a team of paranoid cynics who don’t trust one another. Between the extremes of gullibility and paranoia is smart trust. Learn how to extend smart trust here. No second-guessing required.
Self-trust is at the core of everything we do. It ripples through every relationship, the organization, the market, and society. Give others a person they can trust.
Question: How did you score on the self-trust diagnostic? In which of the three key areas can you improve?
![Das a Culture Problem: Leadership Lessons from the Volkswagen Scandal]()
People
Every week, we talk to leaders who are responsible for making sweeping organizational changes. Some are going through mergers. Some are opening new international markets. Others are leading major rebranding initiatives.
Change is pervasive in our society and a fact of life in organizations. It’s easy to get caught up in the sexy complexities of organizational change. So easy, in fact, that we can forget to connect with what our employees are doing each day to keep the engines running. If that disconnect is too great, we run the risk of creating lasting damage.
Gallup reports that 7 out of every 10 employees are disengaged at work. If your calendar is loaded with meetings about your latest strategic initiative, consider making room for small changes to engage with your employees. Take some time to show them that they are valued members of your team.
Here are 4 small changes that can produce big results:
1. Greet every employee you encounter, making eye contact and smiling, no matter how rushed you feel. Does this sound too simple to be effective? Remember that every employee wants to be recognized. At its most basic, that means seeing and acknowledging each person. This takes very little time, but can significantly improve the spirits of the entire organization. Be genuine though. Employees can spot a smile-o-matic from miles away.
2. Spend at least 15 minutes each day simply listening to what your employees have to say. Leaders spend so much time telling, that it is easy to forget the value of listening. Listen with your ears, your eyes, and your heart. With daily practice, you’ll begin to find out what matters most to your employees. Great leaders are great listeners.
3. Connect employees’ daily contributions to the organization’s strategic objectives. Granted, there may be some strategic initiatives in the pipeline that you are not ready to share with your employees. But employees can and should connect what they do each day to the published organizational goals. As a leader, it is vital that help employees connect the dots between what they do and what the organization is trying to achieve. Read more about proven ways to connect your employees with your strategic plan here
4. Offer more praise than corrective feedback. Being negative comes naturally. But, according to this Galllup Business Journal article, “Recognition is a short-term need that has to be satisfied on an ongoing basis – weekly, maybe daily.” Every time we praise, it creates a burst of dopamine or internal reward system that makes employees want to repeat the behavior that was positively recognized.
Each of these four simple steps takes very little time out of your day. Find the time and take the time to make these small changes to keep your employees engaged.
Question: Which of these actions could you take today?
![Das a Culture Problem: Leadership Lessons from the Volkswagen Scandal]()
People
HR is getting a lot of bad press these days. We thought we’d share one HR Department that’s getting an A+ for its transparent HR recruitment practices. The company is Cumming Corporation, an international construction management firm headquartered in San Diego.
(more…)
1. Culture rolls downhill. Volkswagen’s mistakes stem from toxicity in the culture, and culture always starts at the top. CEO’s cannot be expected to know everything, but they are ultimately responsible for the behaviors and practices of everyone on their watch. As leaders, we send loud and clear signals to the culture by what we measure, what we reward, and what we ignore.
2. Short-term focus skews judgment. VW’s focus was clearly on short-term profits. A maniacal, short-term focus is not a sustainable model. Sustainability requires resilience. Deceiving regulators and consumers may have served the company’s immediate needs, but it compromised the world’s trust in the company’s products. Trust that will take years to re-build.
3. A 1-degree error can put you miles off course. Leadership advisor and avid pilot Dieter F. Uchtdorf warns, “Suppose you were to take off from an airport at the equator, intending to circumnavigate the globe, but your course was off by just one degree. By the time you returned to the same longitude, how far off course would you be? The answer might surprise you. An error of only one degree would put you almost 500 miles off course.” Massive ethics violations can start with a one degree slip in judgment.
