Canadian HR Strategy

16 Executive Series Digest hrreporter.com employees and management. And employee engagement actually in- creased a er the crisis. e engagement lev- el was 82 per cent before the outbreak and 96 per cent six months later, said McCain. " e lion's share of that can be traced back to the respect inside the organiza- tion that we collectively (had)," he said. "What people in the organization did for their community, for the people aff ected, various stakeholders, customers, was ab- solutely heroic. And that became, in ev- ery case, connected with our core values, and that became the real solidifi cation of that bond." R efreshing difference found in McCain's belief (Organizational Effectiveness) By Barbara Kofman W hen it comes to the correlation between enhanced pro- ductivity and improved fi nancial results, few senior leaders need convincing. But what if someone revealed there was one key thing a CEO could do that would, more than anything else, contribute to a better bottom line? In all probability, the CEO would take the time to fi nd out what this step is. But how would the CEO react if he was told the path to greater profi tability lies in the development and execution of a set of durable corporate values, ones that are inculcated into every aspect of the or- ganization, from hiring decisions through to rewards and recognition — and the most unwavering model of these values in action would have to be him? Many have attempted to put this "value proposition" into action. However, as Michael McCain highlighted, doing this is not simply a matter of developing and posting value statements on a website and telling employees they must use these as the guiding principles in ev- erything they do. It is about planned and consistent execution. e corporate world is littered with inert value statements, con- ceivably well-intentioned when developed but ultimately losing mo- mentum. ey never achieve their promise to enable the building of a culture where there is a clear understanding and sense of responsibil- ity on the part of all employees regarding what behaviour is expected, and for anyone who fails to act appropriately, the upshot is to go — voluntarily or involuntarily. While some of the strategies Maple Leaf Foods has put in place to ensure employees understand and remain committed to applying these values must be taken "on faith" (such as leadership training), there is evidence on many levels that a competitive advantage accrues to organizations that build their leadership promise and organiza- tional eff ectiveness around an immutable set of values championed fi rst and foremost by their CEOs. e signifi cance of a culture centred on values was powerfully illustrated when McCain described how it was these "values in action" that guided the way the Listeria tragedy was managed. One of the outcomes a er this crisis was rising em- ployee engagement numbers. Given the evidence, why do many leaders fail to see the folly in not leveraging and infusing their organizations' values into every as- pect of the business? What holds them back? Is it a lack of vision, a focus on short-term results, self-interest, ego, CEO turnover? Con- ceivably, it is a bit of all of these things. Indeed, Maple Leaf Foods has the advantage of a long-term, stable leader at the top who has had the opportunity to develop, take ownership for, put into action, see the results and then stay the course. Hearing McCain speak was a refreshing diff erence from leaders who speak to the importance of values but fail to act in a way that supports this statement nor hold accountable those who don't walk the talk. It's also a good reminder of author Jim Collins' fi ndings that great companies have "a culture of discipline that ejects those who do not share the values of the organization." Barbara Kofman is SCNetwork's lead commentator on organiza- tional eff ectiveness and founding principal of CareerTrails in Toronto, a strategic coaching and HR solutions organization focused on enabling individuals and organizations to resolve their work-related challenges. She has held senior roles in resourcing, strategy and outplacement, and taught at the university and college level. Kofman can be reached at (416) 708-2880 or bkofman@careertrails.com. Ma ple Leaf leadership tactics not for faint of heart (Strategic Capability) By Karen Gorsline V alues-based leadership is a popular catch phrase in man- agement literature, but most people underrate both its in- herent risks and potential benefi ts. Listening to Michael McCain talk about leadership through crisis and engagement eff orts made it clear a values-based leadership style, if actually practised versus proclaimed on a poster, is not for the faint of heart. Some refl ections on his comments: Entrepreneurial values meet publicly traded company: e values at Maple Leaf Foods are strongly infl uenced by McCain coming from a highly entrepreneurial, private family business. "Doing what's right" refl ects a sense of community in a more personal and intimate way than a more sterile concept of corpo- rate social responsibility, as articulated by many public compa- nies. Building the organization, delivering on results and getting things done are classic entrepreneurial values Maple Leaf Foods broadened to include collaborative teams, the discipline of process and an ex- plicit reference to the importance of growing and learning. is adaptation represents a nod to modern management concepts. As a publicly traded company composed of about 30 LEADERSHIP

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