Page 289 - Fearless Leadership

276 FEARLESS LEADERSHIP

become much more than words; they become powerful behavioral prac-
tices that are integrated into the fabric of your organization.
You now have a methodology for discussing blind spots without offend-
ing, talking straight about breakdowns without blaming, and holding each
other accountable without reprimanding. You can build a learning organi-
zation where people are excited about learning and growing together.

BUILD NETWORKS OF COMMITTED PARTNERSHIPS
EVERYWHERE
A leader asked me, “If I can’t change the behavior of others, what can I
do?” My answer: “The real work. You can transform yourself, be a com-
mitted partner, and ask others to join you.” Transforming your behavior
and building a culture of accountability demonstrates that you are seri-
ous about your commitment to organizational change. You will no longer
need to referee conflict or be the only person who is holding people
accountable. With uniform behavioral standards and shared skill sets, each
individual will take 100% accountability for raising the level of perfor-
mance of the organization.
Let’s underscore the point of building committed partnerships: to pro-
duce consistent, superior business results. Committed partnerships are a
competitive advantage as the example below demonstrates.

Leaders Build a Profitable Committed Partnership
with a Strategic Customer
The senior team of a major business unit in a worldwide chemical
company asked our organization to help them build a committed
partnership with a strategic customer. There were significant chal-
lenges with the customer, and the chemical company had been
unsuccessful in resolving them.

What Happened. In meeting with the senior team from the chemi-
cal company, we saw that although they wanted an effective relation-
ship with the customer, their fixed views and opinions were preventing
this from happening. It took focused and rigorous discussions to help
the group alter their fixed judgments about the customer and over-
come entrenched behaviors of blaming the customer for breakdowns.