The Development Exponent: A Leadership Perspective
Bruce Holoubek
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Developing Future Leaders of Family-Owned Businesses, with Jim Hartlieb
Every Senior Leader should be aiming to replicate themselves by developing future leaders from within their organizations. It’s a proven way to increase team ownership, improve existing teams and structures, and to build a stronger organization over the long haul. One of the primary ways this kind of leadership development happens is through living out the organization's values consistently. You can engrave a set of company values on the wall, but it’s quite another thing to live them out consistently. In a family-owned business, the impact of that kind of consistency is multiplied. Jim Hartlieb is a seasoned leader whose name has come up again and again when the subject of company culture and values comes up. He is part of the leadership team that has developed a values-based culture at First Business Bank of Madison, Wisconsin. First Business Bank’s clientele is primarily made up of family-owned businesses that have passed down through the generations. Join us for this lively conversation about leadership, the development of organizational values and their consistent implementation, and how to use those values to provide a mutually meaningful work engagement for everyone. Leading by example is crucial when developing future leaders A clear set of organizational values can be empowering and clarifying, but only if those in leadership make it their business to embody the values consistently and with integrity. Leaders can’t expect those they are leading to embrace and uphold the company's values if the leader’s own behavior demonstrates that the values are, in fact, not so important. “In our culture, we believe that leading by example and making sure your actions match your words, are a big deal.” That’s how Jim describes the attitude at First Business Bank. “That really starts at the top with our CEO, Corey Chambas, and really all through the organization. You can see it walking around every day at work in the meetings that we have as a team and then how we interact with clients.” Developing leaders in any organization will inevitably take on the same attitude as those who nurture and develop them as future leaders. That’s why leading by example is so critical. A helpful question to ask yourself as you develop future leaders is, “Am I the kind of leader my organization needs five or ten more of?” The Golden Rule of leadership development Most of us have heard of the Golden Rule: “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” It’s a great principle for life that translates into leadership perfectly. As you work with developing leaders, consider this principle as you provide feedback, encouragement, correction, and direction. How would YOU want to be treated in each of those contexts? Your answer to the question will prove extremely helpful. Jim says, “It goes back to one of the golden rules: treat people the way you want to be treated. The way I like to get feedback is to just tell me and have it be actionable feedback that I can learn from and improve on in the future. So, if that’s how I want to be treated then that’s how I should interact with the people that I manage on a day to day basis. To me, it’s just common sense that if you expect someone to do the right thing, not only do they need to understand it but when you see them veering off the path, you need to be able to give them that feedback in a way that they can correct their behavior in the future. It seems pretty basic but you don’t always see it played out that way.” Helping future leaders prepare for inevitable leadership challenges One of the most challenging leadership situations is when an upcoming leader steps into a position where they will be expected to lead people who have years of experience in the industry and perhaps are much older. Are you doing everything you can to help your future leaders prepare for those situations so they can respond with the savvy and wisdom it takes to fully enlist those
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