Page 103 - Roy W. Rice - CEO Material How to Be a Leader in Any Organization-McGraw-Hill (2009)

84 • CEO Material: How to Be a Leader in Any Organization

Set Your Own Ground Rules

Purposefully decide on and put down on paper your own rule(s), motto,
or standard to live up to. If you do not know what you stand for, how will
others? It can be as simple as, “I will not lie, cheat, or steal and will do
what I say I’ll do, no matter what.” There, that’s it. If you want to go a step
farther, you could tattoo it on your shoulder blade in Sanskrit. But start
with the commitment to yourself.
You can add nuances like

■ I will not have backroom cowardice; that is, I will not be afraid
to open up uncomfortable issues and instead cover them up.
■ I will not straddle the line, waltz around, or put a spin on things.
■ I will not give long-winded explanations or justifications.
■ I will not intentionally mislead or misrepresent.
■ I will not give a half-truth or fib or allow a strategic omission of
information.

Stick to your self-selected rule(s) no matter what. Leaders create a
history of keeping promises—promises to others as well as to themselves.

There is an old European proverb I like: “Tell the truth and run.”

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I left work at 10:30 p.m. last night. I noticed the trash can in the
garage was overfilling, so I hauled it out and dumped it. That isn’t
in the CEO’s job specs, but I saw something that needed to be done.
After I use the sink in the bathroom, I clean it up. I don’t have to do
that, but I’m considering the next person who uses it.... At a new
employee meeting last week I put my home phone number up on a
flipchart and told them, “This is my home phone number. If this isn’t
the best place you’ve ever worked, call me and tell me so that I can
do something about it.” If I don’t provide service to them, they won’t
provide service to each other or to our customers. That’s how I view
integrity.
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