Serving People in the Twenty-First Century:
The Leader’s Role in the Human Connection
By
Robert M. Burke
Student ID 85943
CI*MBA – Module 2
03-11-2000
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Introduction
Now, more than ever, we are living in a time when customer service seems to be the standard
against which the consumer measures the success of any organization. In this author’s opinion,
logical reasoning holds that those organizations that meet or exceeds the customer’s expectation,
ceteris peribis, have a much better chance of growing their business and achieving success,
regardless of the economical time period the organization is operating in.
Passing through the gates of the 21st century you probably heard snappy catch phrases being
communicated throughout your organization, and to the consumer, such as “Quality Service”,
“Customer Care”, and “World Class Service.” However, if you are a recognized leader within
your organization, you should ask yourself a very important question: “As a recognized leader in
organization, what is my role in making sure the people I lead offer our consumers the high level
of quality service they expect?” Asking this question on a deeper level, we could ask: “As a
leader, what is my role in shaping an organizational culture that emphasizes quality service
provided to all customers?”
Before answering these questions in an academic sense, the following lines are offered as a way
of setting the stage and descriptively demonstrating the focus of this paper:
“The winter passed and Arthur returned to Britain. He established the whole of his
kingdom in a state of lasting peace and then remained there for the next 12 years.
Arthur then began to increase his personal entourage by inviting very distinguished men
from far-distant kingdoms to join it. In this way, he developed such a code of courtliness in
his household that he inspired peoples living far away to imitate him. The result was even
the man of noblest birth, once he was roused to rivalry, thought nothing at all of himself,
unless he wore his arms and dressed in the same way as Arthur’s Knights.” (Excerpt from
Part VII, History of the King’s of Britain by Geoffrey of Monmouth, 1136AD.)
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Geoffrey of Monmouth completed this manuscript in 1136AD (Thorpe, 1966). Arthur, of whom
Geoffrey passionately writes about, appears in the History’s time-line in the sixth century
(Thorpe, 1966). It is this Arthur’s opinion that, almost 1500 years ago, a recognized leader of an
organization, knowing the critical impact of his behaviors and actions had on the organization’s
culture, engaged in the daily activity of making sure his deeds were aligned with his words.
Arthur knew his role in shaping the quality of the human connections and behaved accordingly.
To begin our academic journey, we will first attempt to define “organizational culture.” Next,
we will touch upon the impact that rituals have on an organization’s culture. We will then look
at some concepts that relate to a leader’s integrity and explore the leader’s behavioral influence
on the organization’s culture. Finally, we will see how the behaviors and actions of a leader
effect the quality of service provided by the frontline representative to the end consumer.
What is Organizational Culture?
Defining organizational culture is nebulous at best. David D. Van Fleet offers various
definitions from various sources in his book “Behavior in Organizations” (1991). Here are some
of those definitions as presented by Van Fleet (1991):
Definition
“a belief system shared by an organization’s
members”
Source
J.C. Spender, “Myths, Recipes and
Knowledge-bases in Organizational Analysis”
(Unpublished Manuscript, Graduate School of
Management, University of California at Los
Angeles, 1983), p. 2.
“the way we do things around here”
T.E. Deal and A.A. Kennedy, Corporate
Cultures (Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley,
1982), p. 4.
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“a set of symbols, ceremonies, and myths that
communicate the underlying values and beliefs
of that organization to its employees”
W.G. Ouchi, Theory Z (Reading, Mass.:
Addison-Wesley, 1981) p. 41.
“the pattern of basic assumptions that a given
group has invented, discovered, or developed
in learning to cope with its problems of
external adaptation and internal integration”
E.H. Schein, “The Role of the Founder in
Creating Organizational Culture,”
Organizational Dynamics, Summer 1985,
p. 14.
According to Van Fleet (1991), “Taken together, the three common threads that run through
these various definitions allow us to create a definition which most authors would probably
agree:
Organizational culture is the set of values, often taken for granted, that help people
in an organization understand which actions are considered acceptable and which
are considered unacceptable.”
Social scientists from the disciplines of Anthropology, Sociology, Social Psychology, and
Economics contribute to the research and understanding of organizational culture, according to
Van Fleet (1991), and for good reason: in some aspect each one involves the study of the
interactions and connections of human beings. It is this author’s opinion that this interaction is
the genesis of culture of any kind, including organizational culture.
Now that we understand what organizational culture is, how do we relate this information to a
leader’s desire to communicate the consistent values of “quality service” to everyone in the
organization? Part of the answer is provided by organizational consultants T.E. Deal and A.A.
Kennedy in their concept of cultural network (Van Fleet 1991).
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According to Deal and Kennedy, cultural network, similar to an organization’s informal network
of communication, is a network for passing along information and reinforcing corporate values.
(Van Fleet, 1991)
Rituals
Of the many forms of communication that might flow up and down the cultural network, rituals
stand out as a medium of importance because they symbolize the company’s values, according to
Deal and Kennedy (Van Fleet, 1991). Other writers agree. Clayton G. Smith and Robert P.
Vecchio in their article Organizational Culture and Strategic Management: Issues in the
Management of Strategic Change (1993) write, “…rituals help to communicate and reinforce
what is valued.”
When thinking about rituals, the author believes that many people tend to relate rituals to only
specific events, such as award presentations and job promotions. However, rituals can be much
more. The Merriam Webster Dictionary (1997) offers this definition of Ritual: a customarily
repeated act or series of acts.
Using our knowledge of organizational culture, the cultural network, and the importance and
definition of rituals, we can begin to formulate the answer to original question in which we
asked, “As a recognized leader in my organization, what is my role in making sure the people I
lead offer our consumers the high level of quality service they expect?” To this author, the
answer seems to be, “Exemplify the attributes of quality service in your daily routine so as to
encourage others to imitate your deeds and absorb your values.” In other words, walk the walk.
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Do actions speak louder than words? This author believes they do! If a leader’s desire is to have
the employees consistently engage in providing quality service to their customers, the leader
must first exhibit the values he or she wishes to instill into those employees. If the leader’s
behavioral pattern demonstrates impatience, lack of empathy, lack of understanding, self focus,
or any other “non-quality” service trait, this author believes the employees will demonstrate
those same patterns.
What are some of the daily rituals a leader can perform to promote the values found within the
scope of “quality service?’ According to Van Fleet, researcher and consultant – Tom Peters –
with his co-author Nancy Austin in their study, A Passion for Excellence: The Leadership
Difference, offer interesting advice:
“They argue that excellence relies on just four values: MBWA (Management By Walking
About) leadership, care of customers, constant innovation, and an appreciation and
valuing of all the company’s people.” (Van Fleet, 1991)
Once a leader knows the values he or she would like to see exhibited in the people they lead,
where should a leader begin to instill those values necessary for providing quality service?
Where should the leader turn his or her attention to be sure he or she walks the walk?
Integrity in a Leader
This author believes any leader should begin looking for those values within themselves. Many
authors support this notion. One of them is John C. Maxwell. In his book, Developing the
Leader Within You, he suggests that leaders should start with themselves (Maxwell, 1993).
Maxwell offers a poem that really drives the point home:
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“An enemy I had, whose face I stoutly strove to know,
For hard he dogged my steps unseen, wherever I did go.
My plans he balked, my aims he foiled, he blocked my onward way.
When for some lofty goal I toiled, he grimly said to me, Nay.
One night I seized him and held him fast, from him the veil did draw,
I looked upon his face at last and lo …myself I saw.” (Maxwell, 1993)
In the end, Maxwell adds,
“When we are foolish, we want to conquer the world.
When we are wise we want to conquer ourselves.”
By beginning with themselves first, leaders will demonstrate integrity to the people he or she is
leading. According to Maxwell (1993), “The book, Profiles of Leadership, reveals the answers
America’s top business and government leaders gave when asked what quality they thought was
most important to their success as leaders. The unanimous answer: integrity.”
Also in his book, Maxwell offers five principles a leader can follow to demonstrate integrity in
their daily rituals:
1. I will live what I teach.
2. I will do what I say.
3. I will be honest with others.
4. I will put what is best for others ahead of what is best for me.
5. I will be transparent and vulnerable. (I.e., decide to be open-armed when working with
people rather than closed-armed.)
What is greater incentive for followers than to see their leaders consistently live the values being
required of them?
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Robert Wess, Ph.D., in his book, Leadership Secrets of Attila the Hun, also supports this idea.
During one of the counseling secessions with his chieftains, Attila, King of the Huns, offers this
bit of wisdom:
“By their own actions, not their words, do leaders establish the morale, integrity, and
sense of justice of their subordinate commanders. They can not say one thing and do
another.” (Wess, 1989)
There is strong insight provided here. The implication is that followers are observing the
behavioral actions of their leaders. Followers will watch for and recognize what values the
leader communicates down through the cultural network and will shape their own behavioral
actions to match those of their leaders.
Quality Service From CEO to Consumer
At this point, we now understand that as leaders, our behaviors and actions definitely play a role
in shaping the values communicated up and down the cultural network of our organization and,
in turn, breathes life into the organization’s culture. Interestingly, the CEO and the frontline
representatives seem so far apart from one another. The frontline representative may hardly ever
see the CEO in order to witness any behavior or action at all. Nevertheless, do the behaviors and
actions of the CEO really have any impact on the quality of service provided by the frontline
representative to the consumer? It is this author’s opinion that it does. “How?” - you might ask?
Try thinking of the relationship this way: Close your eyes and envision a small crystal clear pond
where the water is unmoving and seems so still it’s as if a sheet of glass has been placed upon it.
Now picture yourself picking up and tossing a stone into the center of the pond. What happens
when the stone hits the water? Concentric ripples move outward from where the stone made
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impact. The ripples continue moving away from the stone until they reach the outer banks of the
pond causing some of the pond’s water to bleed over the shoreline.
The pond represented the organization. You represented the CEO. The stone represented your
behaviors and actions. The ripples represented the behaviors and actions of each subordinate
leader in the organization. The water at the outer ends of the pond represents your organization’s
frontline representatives. Finally, the shoreline represented your customers. Using this analogy,
you can see how even someone, who on the surface seems so far removed from the consumer,
has impact on the quality of the surface received by the consumer. It is this author’s opinion that
through imitation and behavioral modeling, subordinate leaders will eventually transmit the
CEO’s values to the employees they have direct responsibility over.
Summary
In order to instill the values needed for frontline representatives to provide quality service to the
consumer on a consistent and daily basis, the leader must first consistently exhibit those values in
his or her own behaviors and actions on a daily basis. The successful leader will understand the
existence of the cultural network, which runs through the organization and shapes the
organization’s culture. The successful leader will know that his or her values will be transmitted
through the cultural network and that subordinate leaders will model those behaviors in their own
actions. These values, in turn, will be modeled by the frontline representatives and will
contribute to the quality of service the customer receives.
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The idea of “walking the walk” is timeless. King Arthur knew this principle back in the sixth
century. However, this notion was communicated to us from a time even more ancient than
Arthur’s. In the New King James Version of the Holy Bible, this verse can be found:
“Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also
reap.” (Galatians 6:7)
As a leader in your organization, what values will you sow? The quality of service your people
provide is in your hands.
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Bibliography
Van Fleet, David D. (1991). Chapter 15 – Organizational Culture. Behavior in
Organizations. Houghton Mifflin Company. 378, 380, 381, 387, 389.
Maxwell, John C. (1993). Chapter 9 – The Price Tag of Leadership: Self-Discipline.
Developing the Leader Within You. Thomas Nelson, Inc. 163, 173-176.
Roberts, Wess, Ph.D. (1989). Chapter 9 – Leading the Charge: “Responsibilities of a
Chieftain.” Leadership Secrets of Attila the Hun. Warner Books, Inc. 62.
Smith, Clayton G. and Vecchio, Robert P. (1993). Organizational Structure and Strategic
Management: Issues in the management of Strategic Change. Journal of Managerial Issues.
Spring 1993. 14.
Geoffrey of Monmouth. (1136). Part 7 – Arthur of Britain. History of the Kings of Britain.
Penguin Books. 222.
The New King James Version of the Holy Bible. (1984). Galatians 6:7. New Testament.