The first is HR Magazine’s ‘The New Model for CSR‘. Companies such as Legal & General, KFC and Anglian Water are taking a much harder look at how to integrate their CSR programmes with the business strategy, and to pursue what Harvard Business School professors Porter and Kramer have called ‘creating shared value’ (CSV). They’re doing this by partnering with charities and creating real-life opportunities to put into practice what leaders have learned through training and development programmes. It’s not just about giving opportunities for volunteering, it’s about gaining first hand insight into what their customers are experiencing – taking it from the theoretical to the practical and experiential.

The second article is Tanveer Naseer’s blog post on ‘The Case for Creating Meaningful Work’, following a Phillips work/life study conducted in North America. I’ve been a fan of Tanveer’s blog for a while now, and a couple of points stood out for me in this post:

A whopping 60% of people admitted that they hadn’t fully considered how their job could add meaning to their lives before accepting it, and yet  ‘over 90% of the study’s participants said that being able to connect their interests and passions with their work would motivate them to work harder, would reduce their stress levels regardless of their workload, and that it would make them feel more successful’.

So on the one hand we’ve got organisations who are wanting to do the right thing and make a difference, and who are investing heavily to ensure that there is synergy between the organisation’s purpose and the local community. On the other hand we’ve got individuals who want meaningful work but who don’t know how to bridge the gap between what they personally believe in and their role within the larger organisation.

Who’s responsibility is it to bridge this gap? My answer is – both. As coaching cultures become standard across business, leaders will have the confidence to ask what have previously been deemed ‘soft and irrelevant questions’ relating to beliefs, values and personal drivers. ‘Management’ will learn to incorporate values-based messaging into company communications, reinforcing the importance of shared purpose. And as the Millenials continue to enter the workforce, they themselves will drive the re-examination of how work can be meaningful. The Phillips study reported that 43% of this generation would take a 25% pay cut for more ‘meaningful work’.

As many of you who have met and worked with me will know, I’m always looking for the opportunity for dialogue. What does ‘meaningful work’ mean? CSR programmes are a great start, but they have to be tied to the day-to-day reality of staff to truly make a difference at the individual employee level – that’s why it’s called ‘shared value’.

I’d love to hear your experiences or case studies of where this has worked in practice – let me know!

Most organisations I have worked with have at least one value that expresses the desire to be innovative, another that reflects the need for team-work, another the quality of delivery or customer service. Sometimes there is a value of respect. But what about love, kindness and compassion? What value heading would they fit under, and why bother?

Terms such as compassion have historically been associated with charity work, defined as the ability to feel another’s pain and  - crucially – wanting to reach out and help. This is different to empathy, which is merely the ability to share and understand the pain without necessarily wanting to do anything about it (see: ‘Greater Good, Science of a Meaningful Life’ for more info).

But research is showing that the ability and action of helping others in the workplace produces a higher state of wellbeing; the so-called virtuous cycle which translates into higher productivity and engagement, better customer service, less stress-induced leave and associated healthcare costs. Emma Seppala Ph.D. at the Center for Compassion and Altruism and Research at Stanford backs this up in her latest article in Psychology Today.

So how can leaders and managers create a culture that promotes compassion and kindness – without appearing weak or ‘soft’? Here are a few ideas to get started:

1. Reward random acts of kindness – a client recently awarded an employee who had spontaneously sent a customer a get well card on hearing they were ill.
2. Promote the ‘human’ side of HR – ensure there is at least one person available who can provide a sympathetic listening ear at any time.
3. Support a charity project – ask all staff to put forward suggestions and ensure the selection criteria is open and transparent.
4. Don’t ‘sweep things under the carpet’ – if an employee is going through tough times (bereavement, cancer treatment etc) ensure there is space for colleagues to discuss the impact at both an activity and emotional level.
5. Foster an environment where people are able to ask for help when needed. Overwhelm and fear of job security can often prevent people from saying ‘I can’t cope’ – leading to breakdowns which then impact customers and relationships at work.

Compassion and kindness are both inherent qualities in human nature. Balancing the rational and cognitive aspects of work with the relational, emotional aspects of working in community with others is one of the biggest challenges for leaders, and indeed everyone working in business today.

For myself, I’ve been considering how Thatcher’s leadership of the government at the time – in turning around a failing country (economically at least) – provides a model for leadership in business. For that is how she approached it – as a business that needed rescuing.

Identity

Thatcher clearly had a strong sense of the UK’s identity – based on its history and ideals of aspiration, courage and hard work.  In the same way, a business needs a clear identity in the market – knowing what it stands for. The challenge is in creating an identity that all people within the business can relate to – and in this regard Thatcher failed to bring the whole country together behind her own ideas of what it meant to be British.

Leaders need to be flexible in creating an identity that all parts of the organisation can relate and subscribe to –  or they risk alienation when they appear to reject core beliefs and values that are intrinsic to sub-groups.

Vision

A strong vision for the future is another element of leadership that Thatcher demonstrated, but again it was a future that appealed to some but not all. If a leader doesn’t bring the collective together behind the vision then it will always be fragmented and at risk. Those ‘alienated’ and left behind because they don’t share the hope and optimism for the future are left in a void that they themselves have to fill – leading to subsets of communities and groups who are then naturally seen as outsiders.

Smart leaders have strategies for how to engage with different groups – accepting their version of the vision and seeking dialogue to find common ground.

Communication & Collaboration 

Thatcher knew what her strengths were and played to them – a strong and quick mind, strong decision-making together with a polished and articulate manner became synonymous with her leadership style. But there were other aspects of communication that she appears not to have developed- to her detriment. Both in her failure to truly listen to the message underlying the protests, and towards the end of her reign (some would say regime), she seemed incapable of bringing together her own government – the ‘us and them’ mentality had invaded her inner circle – a disaster for any leader.

The ability to listen – truly listen – to people across an organisation, industry and market, and bypass the filter of bias is an invaluable leadership skill. And the capacity to work with people who don’t necessarily share your viewpoint, is at the heart of collaboration.

Community

Possibly the most written-about aspect of her government over the last few days, and despite loyal supporters saying to the contrary, Thatcher was all about ‘I’ not ‘we’. In that the rhetoric and policy was geared towards the individual having a right to success and material wealth, without proper and full exploration of how that individual success could translate into collective and community wealth. I’m not qualified to comment on the political aspect of her dealing with the unions and the stranglehold they seemed to have had over the country, but I do believe that the financial state of our economy today has been exasperated by her individualistic ideology. Yes people need to be responsible for their own lives and fulfilment, but not to the detriment of the wider group.

A leader has a responsibility to think of the whole as well as the individuals within it – they are never separate.

I’m sure there are many more parallels that could be drawn – it’s far from the whole story (e.g. I haven’t taken into account her global contribution). But in this new era of business, in which transparency, collaboration, shared values and collective vision are being called for – these four lessons are at the heart of leadership today. I’d love to hear any others you’d care to share – either in the comments below or here on Facebook.

Note that I said ‘primary’ purpose – i.e. the ‘raison d’etre’, the core driver of a business venture. Don’t get me wrong – I’m not opposed to the creation of wealth per se. But when greed drives behaviour that takes advantage of the innocent and preys on the fears of vulnerable people then something’s wrong. The pursuit of profit has to be balanced with the responsibility of business to serve society – to fulfil needs and desires in a way that is honest, doesn’t harm another, and that respects all living beings. In other words, rather than being greed and fear-driven, business can balance wealth creation with love and service. Are the two incompatible?

Simply – no. Business isn’t an abstract entity with systems and processes that are separate from any human intervention. People set up businesses, people manage and lead businesses, and people work in them. In fact, the universal factor across all businesses, all over the world, is that people are core to its existence and its success. I don’t know anybody who gets up in the morning wanting to harm or defraud another. Our core nature is to love – to respect, to serve, to help. So what goes wrong at the collective level?

1. Purpose: the pursuit of wealth – at any cost – is an assumption in certain industries that fundamentally needs to change. This is especially true in industries where short-termism reigns over long-term gains.

2. Transparency: Global supply chains need to be more transparent. Walmart, Gap and H&M were caught ‘unaware’ that their factories in India had contravened fire safety regulation. As I write, Findus are struggling to pinpoint the source of horse-meat in their products. This needs to change.

3. Integrity: Ultimately, it all comes down to a culture of integrity. Integrity in decision-making based on values, as well as price. Integrity in communication. Integrity in how people are treated. This means everyone in the business knowing what to say ‘no’ to, and what the ‘walk away’ point is.

Love and business may on the surface appear incompatible. But they don’t have to be. It takes time, effort and commitment to ‘do the right thing’. While large organisations struggle to implement real and lasting change; as business professionals and consumers, we can lead the way. Ultimately, change starts with you and me – it relies on us speaking out, and voting with our wallets and feet. As the saying goes, the longest journey starts with a single step.

1. Every employee and team member knows how their own role contributes to the ‘greater good’ and core purpose of the organisation

2. Every employee and team member knows, at least at a high level, what the ‘critical path’ to achieving the end vision looks like – i.e. The initiatives, programmes and projects that are underway. If it’s a large corporate business, then this should be true of the business unit within which they work.

3. Project managers focus as much on the impact of change on various aspects of the business (systems, process, behaviour) as they do on completing the project on time, to budget etc.

4. The senior leadership team review the high level plans on a regular basis to ensure that no conflict exists between deadlines and priorities.

5. As plans are developed and projects implemented, the right people are consulted at the right time, and the right people are informed when they need to be. This is done with respect for day-to-day workload considerations, and with enough advance notice that there is no adverse impact on ‘business as usual’ activity.

Planning is a necessary part of business management, and no leader would be expected to run a business or function without an element of planning. It helps structure thinking, communicate expectations and requirements of others, and it facilitates the reporting of progress towards the end goal. But planning is a tool, a means to an end rather than the end in itself. An enlightened leader isn’t a slave to the plan; it is a living document which needs to remain fluid and responsive to changing conditions and emerging opportunities. Business priorities change, and as they do you need to make sure you keep the organisation aligned as it maintains focus in some areas, and shifts in others.

Be audacious. Be bold.

Start with a clear picture of your eco-system. Typically, business leaders think of an eco-system being customers, staff and suppliers. What about the families of these people? The community in which you work? Your competitors? Anybody and everybody who touches your business in any shape or form is in your eco-system. What is it that you offer that will make a difference to all your stakeholders? How will their lives be different as a result of what you are creating and delivering through your business (or team, or function)? When you create a vision statement that bridges your own purpose with the needs of your wider community, then unity and alignment naturally follow.

One of my favourite examples of how vision works comes from outside the business world. Every time I visit Barcelona, I am captivated by the Sagrada Familia – the iconic cathedral with its spires reaching for the heavens. But it’s not the building that stole my heart, it’s the story behind it. A pauper when he died, the architect Antoni Gaudi was run down by a tram, and the plans for his masterpiece were not quite complete. Yet nearly 100 years later, building work still continues, and his vision has not just been built, but built upon. It has inspired countless iterations of design, and the result is a masterpiece that will be a living legacy – not just to Gaudi, but to the Catalan spirit and its people.

A great vision is one that inspires and engages; that unifies and embodies the spirit of its endeavour. Does yours?

My motto is often ‘what got you here won’t get you there’. But that doesn’t mean throwing out the positive aspects of what did get you here. Here are some tips to ensure you lead the business growth in such a way that you take everyone with you:

1. Acknowledge Past Successes

It’s important that ‘old timers’ feel that all they did in the early years was crucial to the company’s success, and that the positive aspects (e.g. perseverance, loyalty, courage to ‘just do it’) are all still relevant to the business today.

2. Create a Story

Stories of the ‘good old days’ (including the disasters) are part of the company’s narrative – the legacy that binds and connects. But they can also alienate those who have joined the company more recently, creating an ‘us and them’ culture that is divisive (and mostly unseen and unspoken). As part of internal communications, create a mechanism by which ‘old’ stories can be seen as part of a seamless timeline into the future.

3. Introduce Discipline Gradually

The best thing about a start-up is often the spontaneity and freedom from bureaucracy and red tape. As a business grows however, it’s essential to have stricter practices re. planning and governance. Accept that people will naturally have resistance to these and give them time to adjust. Start small, and impose gradually.

4. Keep Having Fun!

Having worked for a start-up myself for a few years, I remember how much fun it was! Despite the long hours and incredible pressure, I still have a smile on my face when I think of it. People don’t want to lose that. Make sure your culture allows for time to connect, laugh and not take it all too seriously – even when it is.

5. Watch your Language

It’s really tempting as you ‘grow up’ to use ‘grown up’ business language. Sometimes it’s not necessary, and one of the ways you can honour the legacy of the business is by sticking to terminology that people recognise and are comfortable with. One client I’m working with just debated whether to replace the current name for their charitable activities ‘DTRT – Do the Right Thing’ with ‘CSR’, because we felt it needed to be broader. The team decided to keep the old name but make it clear that it would have a wider scope. Choose your changes wisely.

I often make the analogy of a start-up growing into a ‘proper’ business being similar to that of a toddler or child needing to transition through the teenage years before being grown up. The above tips will help you manage those teenage years, so you grow successfully, and take everyone with you on the ride. Any thoughts or shared experiences welcome in the comments section below!

Enlightened leaders look at the beginning of each year as an opportunity to evaluate who they will be in 12 months’ time. They consider what contribution they’ll have made, the potential challenges and the people, resources and development they’ll need along the way. Then they consider what steps are needed, and set goals by which to measure their success.

But even the practice of goal-setting is being challenged. Not the part about setting an objective and being clear about what you want to achieve. But the bit about how it will be measured, and the fact that sometimes goals can cause conflict – the temptation is to focus on the goal to the detriment of the bigger picture, the overall framework (see HBR blog post).

So here are 10 questions I recommend to ensure you lead a purpose-driven life, to sustain yourself throughout the year without burning out, to stay inspired and to become your ‘greater yet to be’:

1. What contribution will you have made – how, and to who?

2. What different conversations will you be having?

3. What behaviour(s) will you have started to support your ‘greater yet to be’, and what behaviour(s) will have fallen away? (This is typically the NY resolutions bit, but the difference here is that it’s within a much wider context)

4. How will you stay inspired this year? How will you inspire others?

5. What, if any, changes will you make to your environment – work and home?

6. What areas of self-development will you have invested in?

7. How will you measure your ‘wealth’?

8. What challenges do you anticipate, and how can you practice ‘metta’ (loving kindness) along the way?

9. What will you need to feel fulfilled at the end of the year?

10. Overall, what will have substantially changed at the end of 2013? How will you feel as a result?

Spending time on these 10 questions now, before setting any goals or (if you still insist!) some NY resolutions, will set you up for more sustainable success. And remember – don’t limit yourself to your answers. Stay alert as the year progresses – there could be even greater possibilities that you can’t yet imagine.

We need a new moral compass in business, that’s not driven exclusively by profit. In his book ‘Ethicability’, Roger Steare states ‘… professional and business ethics is demanding because of the complexities of having so many other people’s interests represented in the workplace. If we are to avoid gridlock at work, we need fewer traffic lights (less regulation) and more roundabouts (more principles).

Business strategy and planning now not only needs to include a CSR strategy, but also a clear ethics programme that helps people at all levels of business explore core principles such as trust, integrity, and fairness; along with a safe, open forum to explore what ‘doing the right thing’ means in the context of  business decisions that involve conflict between commercial and customer interests. In the busy world of deadlines and sales-focused activity, the short-term need to meet targets often trumps long-term considerations such as reputational risk.

This for me is the heart of ‘Enlightened Business’. Business that recognises and responds to these challenges, in a mature adult way – with dialogue, with cultural intelligence and with the understanding that the culture of a business, and indeed an entire industry, requires as much investment of time and energy as does the strategy to be profitable.

You should. I don’t know one workplace that isn’t culturally diverse. The success of a workplace culture is dependent on many factors – common values, attitudes, behaviours, reward & recognition, environment, dress, open communication, trust & respect among others.

But if you don’t understand the ‘default programme’ of the various cultures represented in your organisation then it will be an uphill battle to build a unified culture that is consistent. Yes values are universal, but how they are expressed is unique to each culture, and with a diverse workforce this has to be taken into consideration.

Having just facilitated a series of ‘world cafe’ style sessions for a client in both the UK, and its two offices in India, I was struck by the difference in approach to the exercises, and the shape and format of the outputs of the sessions from both continents. Both sets of outputs are hugely valuable, as was the process in each location. But how those outputs are interpreted, and fed back, will need to be done through the lens of the local culture.

That’s the challenge. Cultural intelligence takes time to develop. It takes time to take into consideration all of the contributing factors as to why change initiatives are taking longer than anticipated; or why employee engagement might not have reached its target. But it is a critical element that can’t be ignored.

For a good starting point, I recommend the book ‘Cultural Intelligence: Living and Working Globally’, David C. Thomas and Kerr Inkson, published by Berrett Koehler. With chapters on Making Decisions across Cultures; Communicating, Negotiating and Resolving Conflict across Cultures; and Motivating and Leading across Cultures, it’s a great starting point to ensure that this critical competency is embedded into your business practice.