Agile Coaches' Corner Dr. Jeff Thompson on Values-Based Leadership
This week, Dan Neumann is joined by Dr. Jeff Thompson. Jeff is the Executive Advisor and Chief Executive Officer Emeritus at Gundersen Health System as well as a pediatrician, author, and speaker on values-based leadership. His experience in leadership is extensive — with his role as CEO at Gundersen Health System for 14 years being especially remarkable. During his tenure at Gundersen Health System, they had been recognized across the country for their high-quality patient care.
In his book, Lead True: Live Your Values, Build Your People, Inspire Your Community, Jeff illustrates how a true leader puts their people, organization, and community first. In it, he has compiled stories from a diverse group of leaders who have employed values-based leadership and succeeded. These values greatly align with those of Dan’s in the Agile space.
In today’s episode, Jeff and Dan discuss values-based leadership and how important it is to incorporate in an organization. Jeff gives several deep lessons on excellence and how everyone within the organization can live and benefit through an organization’s values.
Key Takeaways
How to implement values-based leadership in an organization:
Make the values explicit and have the courage to speak them
Give staff clarity on what the organization is about, what you’re going to stand for, and what the purpose is
Use the value set as a means to show them how to get there
Make the purpose known (especially a purpose beyond the money)
Build a steady drumbeat of serving this purpose in a disciplined way
Jeff’s tips and strategies for achieving better alignment around an organization’s purpose and values:
Be really clear and consistent about the organization’s message (write it down and post it; make it very public)
Have the courage to say what the purpose is, what the mission is, and what the values are
Implement a code of conduct that applies to everyone in the organization
Follow through
Use a covenant (or “compact”) with staff and teams to help with alignment
Follow the principle: if it’s not O.K. for everybody, then it’s not O.K. for one
Manage influential people’s bad behavior to improve overall creativity, engagement, and decrease turnover
Benefits of a values-based leadership:
Once it gets going, this model can sustain itself
Improves the wellbeing of the community
Unleashes the talents and creativity of your organization
Encourages innovation by providing a structure that allows staff to act on their own
Encourages creativity, momentum, and excellence by providing a set of principles on how to treat each other
Mentioned in this Episode:
Lead True: Live Your Values, Build Your People, Inspire Your Community, by Jeff Thompson
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