Lead Article:
Navigating Leadership on the 5 C's
 
By Katharine White MS, CS, CPHQ

“Set your sail and go!”

Isn’t this what leaders are expected to do as they navigate their teams from where they are to their desired future state? However, in the “voyage” from the starting to the finishing point, there is typically little time to prepare, only vague instructions on HOW to behave as a leader to get there, little time to practice , no “chart” for the territory, and an unclear destination. Despite these conditions, the directive from above stands: “Get results through people, and do it fast with excellence!”

- Starting Point

Preparing to be a leader might be the most short-changed of all human resource activities in organizations. It could appear to a leader that the company believes they should just know how to lead.

Highly technically competent employees often become leaders and on a “wing and a prayer” are expected to get results. The starting point to navigating leadership is to define the expectations for employee behavior, then hold iron clad accountability around them.

The simplest method for defining those behavioral instructions is to derive them from the organizational values, since they are the guiding principles by which all employees are expected to behave. In health care, these values are often those that relate to achieving the highest “marks” in quality and patient safety ie. Communication, Collaboration, Patient Safety First ©, Continuous Improvement and Technical Excellence.

If all employees were to emulate these, health care organizations would have less errors, better outcomes and more satisfied patients and employees. In business, the guiding principles or values are often those that relate to achieving the highest marks in product excellence and customer service ie, Communication, Teamwork, Customer First, Efficiency and Technical Excellence.

If all employees were to emulate these, companies would have higher quality products, more customer loyalty and increased profitability. Getting off to a good start for leaders requires that companies and organizations clearly define these behavioral expectations for employees.

And moving quickly to the finish line requires that leaders have the competence to hold employees accountable to these expectations at each and every opportunity. Beyond a “wing and a prayer” leadership, success is only achieved by organizations defining the key leadership competencies that will invariably achieve results through people.

The answer to the question of HOW to behave as a leader to get results through people in the most efficient and effective way, is described in the 5 C’s. The linkage from Organizational Values that are the basis of employee behavioral expectations, and Leadership Competencies required to hold accountability on them, is described in Chart 1 .

Through our experience working with leaders and organizations in our consultative process for healthcare: Healthcare Values: Patient Safety First © and in business: Business Values: Customers First ©, (1) we noticed that if leaders were skilled at these five competencies, they would achieve their desired outcomes. They are as follows: Caring, Courage, Consistency, Change Managing and Coaching. (*for the purposes of this competency model, the behaviors of Profiles International Checkpoint 360© are used to describe each competency) See Chart 2

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The Five C's:

1) Caring:
Since employees consistently report that their engagement relates to how much they feel cared about by their managers, demonstrating authentic Caring becomes mission critical. If employees perceive that the organization cares about them as people, they bring more of themselves to the voyage ahead. Caring is embodied in the behaviors of listening to others, effective communication and building personal relationships. * When the leader demonstrates these behaviors, they effectively express their caring and concern for their team members who in turn become fuller contributors.

2) Courage:
No matter how much a leader cares, if they lack the courage to step up to hold accountability, the future desired state is far beyond the horizon. Being a Courageous leader means embodying these behaviors: providing direction, instilling trust and delegating effectively.* Leadership is often hampered by fear; fear that the employee won’t be happy if the leader is direct, or demanding of outcomes. The antidote for fear is courage. If fear causes the leader to hold back; ie, waiting for someone else, or something else to happen, this will, in effect, cause “running a-ground” for the team. When the leader demonstrates courageous behavior, employees know where they stand, where they’re going, experience trust and receive delegation more easily.

3) Consistency:
Expressing Caring and embodying Courage won’t be enough to get results through people if the leader is not Consistent. Knowing what to be consistent about (guided by the values of the organization) and being iron clad consistent about holding accountability on those things, will hold the team’s course even in the most erratic of conditions. Consistency is embodied in the behaviors of taking action, achieving results, working efficiently and working competently.* When leaders demonstrate consistent behavior, employees work in an accountable culture, and perform more reliably, yielding better team results.

4) Change Managing:
Demonstrating Caring, Courage and Consistency alone won't achieve results through people without also being an effective Change Manager. Just when the team is underway, priorities change. A leader who manages change, rather than being managed by it, will be more effective. Change Managing is embodied in the behaviors of: adaptability, personal development and facilitating team success. Leaders who demonstrate effective change management skills flex rather than break with changing demands. They learn what it takes to lead a team even when the unexpected occurs.

5) Coaching:
And finally the Coaching Leader uses the coach approach to help the team become high performing as they face complex and demanding conditions. Furthermore, the Coaching Leader, beyond holding accountability on the minimum expectations, believes in developing others, and engages in a systematic development method for team members. Coaching is embodied in the behaviors of: cultivating individual talents and motivating others.* When leaders use the coach approach, their employees are typically more invested, satisfied and empowered.

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Leading the Voyage from Start to Finish

Adding to the challenge of little time to prepare, and limited instruction on HOW to behave as the leader, the way to get there is uncharted, and moreover the team’s expected outcome/destination is often unstated. While the company itself might have lofty strategic goals, the team’s measureable goal as “cascaded” from the strategic goal often needs articulation. The risk of not knowing the direction in concrete terms, is that leaders waffle on just about everything they do with their teams. Facing new or "uncharted" territory, leaders can lose focus, and thus, productivity. However, leaders who navigate by the 5 C’s will push for clarity on measures of success, and a “chart” for new “waters”. Employees will rally behind the Caring, Courageous, Consistent, Change managing and Coaching leader to achieve the results that are critical to organizational success. And it is through learning and “skilling up” on the leadership competencies through repetitive trials, that success will be realized.


Ending Point

At the end of the voyage (the fiscal year, the project, the quarter, the task, the challenge, the initiative) as the impact measures of success are reported, teams will know if they succeeded or not, and by how much. Did getting the results through people meet the target? Through the 5 Cs, leaders will surely experience greater success with achieving the expected results. And moreover, the voyage getting there will involve better preparation, clearer instructions on how to behave as a leader, a chart for the territory, more specified outcomes, more time to practice and employees who more willingly engage in the voyage.

In short, navigating leadership on the 5 C’s is worth the trip.

Stay tuned for upcoming publications that will take these competencies in more detail and apply them to case scenarios for deepening understanding of the importance of these as keys to Navigating Leadership.

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Reference Chart 1: Organizational Values and Related Leadership Competencies

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Reference Chart 2: Leadership Competency and Related Leadership Behaviors

(1) If you would like more information on the Healthcare Values: Patient Safety First© consultative process for health care, or Business Values: Customers First © please contact:
Lighthouse Performance Strategies, Inc. www.lighthousePSI.com
1-401-632-4237

Learn more about Healthcare Renaissance Consulting at our website: http://www.healthcarerenaissance.net/