tiré de Triple Crown Leadership, Bob Vanourek, Gregg Van Vanourek, 2012
Triple crown leadership is about building Ethical, Excellent and Enduring organisations (3Es).
Compelling results are reached by leaders who navigate waters making judgement calls. Successful decisions are based on a combination of 3 traits : character (ethical), capabilities (excellence) and sustained superior performance (enduring).
Character is about how things are done, what is acceptable and suitable for the group, what fits. Character is based on integrity, motive and intent with people. An organisation needs to define a vision statement, which guides its activities and have a clear match with its leader’s values. Character is what stands out when you need to prioritise your actions during a crisis. Character runs through the whole organisation : the Board, the CEO, the Managers and the people without formal authority. It is the sign of strong stewardship. Leadership is a group performance.
Misfits include, people who : do not play well with others, rationalize unethical behaviour, intimidate others, attack people, whose negativity infects others, who acquiensce to a request knowing negative consequences will result, sabotage equipment/projects/colleages, hurt others while accomplishing things, who poison the culture. Misfits need to be removed (even if they are high peformers !).
” Every bird can fly faster in formation than they can alone “
Alignment is key to success, the organisation’s goals need to be clear. Alignement brings focus, builds trust, builds buy-in an commitment, creates the conditions for flow. Alignement has aspirational, strategic and executional purposes : aspirational (long term) : purpose, vision, values. strategic (medium term) : strategy, goals, people, structures. execution (short term) : processes, action plans, communication loops
” The signature of the truly great versus the merely successful is not the absence of difficulty, but the ability to come back from setbacks, stronger than before”
Turnaround adaptations are of 3 sorts : flips, back-to-normal and rebirths. Rebirths require several ingredients : a turnaround CEO (who believes success is a team effort and who proves to be realistic about the circumstances, optimistic about the ultimate success and productively paranoid about the risks), alignement with the Board, clear communication to all stakeholders, focus on the vision, psychological stability (via ventilation, priority setting, project setting, amnesty, an aligned turnaround team, an operating rythm with regular status reports, and a sanctuary to reach out and rest.