WORDS TO LEAD BY - Integrity

This year we are sharing lessons from a book titled Construction Leadership from A to Z. by Wally Adamchik.

His book explores “26 Words to Lead By.”

This session’s word is INTEGRITY.

INTEGRITY

Integrity – steadfast adherence to a strict moral or ethical code; the state of being unimpaired

“Trust is the great simplifier. If people in business told the truth, 80 or 90 percent of their problems would disappear.” - Will Schutz

If people can’t trust you, they will not want to follow you.

Let’s look at the facets of integrity that relate to leading. Think about the values you stress to your employees. They may include efficiency, teamwork, or service. Do you say a certain procedure is the right way to do things at your place (because it supports those values)? Then do you not hold someone accountable if they deviate from that procedure? Although it may not strictly fit the definition, at root this is an integrity issue: You say one thing but do another. Have you ever told someone you would call them back, and then didn’t?

What about the manager who decides to fire someone and blames it on cutbacks? And then there is the performance review where the manager says everything is “fine” but fails to address a critical performance issue with the employee. In each case, the manager is evading the truth and acting without integrity. His people will have little faith in him and little respect for him as a supervisor. This, in turn, will make him a weak and ineffective leader.

Your effectiveness in relationships depends on how much people see you as living by your word. Where they see it strongly, people trust you more, listen more closely to you, and allow you to influence them. This form of credibility is necessary to lead, to sell, and to address conflicts.

The most important person with whom you must be honest is yourself.

“If you tell the truth you don’t have to remember anything.” - Mark Twain

Integrity Jumpstart:

• Deliver on your commitments.
• Play by the rules.
• Understand why and when you lie.

Integrity is all about “walking the talk!”

...Do we boast one thing in a meeting and then do another in the field?

Whether it involves environmental stewardship (adhering to the requirements of our permits), quality materials and services (does the material meet or exceed the specifications), customer service (loading their trucks as scheduled), productivity in the field (are we planning properly to be as efficient as possible), or safety (seat belts, turn signals, NO using cell phones while driving) - integrity is doing the right things even when no one will know. Let’s choose to have integrity today and every day!

Donald G. Rosenbarger
Senior Vice President
Delta Companies Inc

What Should We Do When...

Employees’ personal lives often can affect their ability to do their jobs and interact with co-workers, supervisors and clients. In our industry, we sometimes we see this behavior in aggressiveness toward other employees - we see it in attendance or tardiness - we see it in a slowed efforts to be productive.

Be aware that even when employees have serious personal issues to deal with at home, they still must meet performance expectations and act professionally.

We see this problem at work with the return of each construction season - I will get a call from a manager, saying - "You will simply not believe what he is going through!"

As a manager, you should be sympathetic and understanding - but you must stay focused on helping the employee meet his/her performance goals.

Again, communication is KEY. When approaching an employee with personal problems give specific examples of unacceptable behavior and make clear your expectations for improvement and staying focused at the task at hand.

Bringing these matters of unacceptable work behaviors to the employee’s attention in a concerned manner will likely allow him or her to realize - more quickly - how the personal issues are negatively impacting working relationships.

I recommend arranging a one-on-one meeting.

One meeting may be enough to resolve the problem. Depending on the situation, you may want to consider other options:

• For severe situations, consider a mandatory referral to an Employee Assistance Program (EAP). Delta Companies' EAP program is through REACH Workplace Solutions. For a directed supervisor referral, contact Human Resources.
• You can strongly suggest that the employee voluntarily take advantage of the program or just remind the employee of the service by providing contact information. This would allow the employee an opportunity to disclose personal issues to a professional and obtain a referral as needed for additional counseling.
• Employees whose personal issues consume them at work may be physically at work or in the office but spending all their time dealing with personal problems rather than performing their jobs. It may be appropriate to offer such an employee time off work—in the form of vacation or unpaid personal leave—to deal with the issues so that he or she can come back to work more focused.
• A performance improvement plan can outline areas for improvement and your expectations for performance expectations.
• The employee may need anger management classes to help cope with stress at work and home.
• Employees who are so overwhelmed with emotional issues at home may have trouble prioritizing and staying focused at work. They may just need extra supervisory assistance setting priorities, staying on task and dealing with roadblocks. You may have to communicate verbally and in writing. Allowing time for the employee to vent about issues constructively with you may be helpful.

You should be concerned with the stress levels of employees, as stress has a serious impact on worker productivity. Careful planning and empathy in dealing with employees whose personal problems affect their work performance are useful tools good managers should have in their tool box.

If you have any questions, please give me a call.

Debbi Robinson
Manager, Human Resources
Delta Companies Inc
- Adapted from Liz Peterson, HR Magazine