Page 151 - Performance Leadership

140 • Part III Principles from the Values and Social Dimensions

not fit into its value system usually soon depart. They don’t feel at
home; they do not understand what is important and what is not. Even
a known high-flyer in a previous company will not be effective in a
company if there is no basic sense of shared values and culture between
the organization and that person. Further, the example of the car dealer
network showed that if a business initiative doesn’t match the organi-
zation’s values, it will not succeed unless it is forced through with
extreme effort. Despite a positive business case, members of an organ-
ization simply do not accept the initiative. Also, values and culture are
externally visible to customers. If an organization launches an initia-
tive that doesn’t fit the organization’s perceived values, customers will
not accept the initiative as authentic and attractive. For instance, a pro-
ducer of SUVs will find it hard to launch a successful “drive clean and
green” campaign. Yet a tobacco company may be very successful in
being seen as authentic in setting up a system to prevent youths from
buying cigarettes.
Understanding and using your organizational values can be a pow-
erful source of management control. Traditionally, performance man-
agement is focused on bureaucratic styles of control, consisting of a
number of standard processes, rules, and checkpoints to make sure all
transactions are performed in the same way. This vertical alignment
and a hierarchic approach works best in environments with low ambi-
guity (only one way to interpret things) and low uncertainty (stable
environment). However, most environments are increasingly ambigu-
ous and very uncertain. More control and more performance indica-
tors would not lead to better results. In fact, they would lead to more
dysfunctional behaviors. In ambiguous and uncertain environments,
internalized control works better. 5
Internalized control means that the members of an organization
share the values and the objectives of the organization, and will seek
to do the right thing and be open about it. Again, this principle is not
soft. Internalized control is the basis of certification in certain profes-
sions, such as with chartered accountants or other types of auditors.
Their certification is a first guarantee of integrity, although the integrity
of the profession may not always be aligned with the goals of the organ-
ization. The values get internalized by years of training, initiation rites,
and a strong status associated with the role. Obviously, values are not