Chapter 10: Don t Hold Your Applause

Overview

The people we interviewed from good-to-great companies clearly loved what they did, largely because they loved who they did it with.

—Jim Collins, AUTHOR OF GOOD TO GREAT: WHY SOME COMPANIES MAKE THE LEAP . . . AND OTHERS DON’T

Jimmy Yancey has been reporting to Jim Blanchard for 33 years. It is a rare, long, and successful relationship in a working world where even 5-year relationships with a manager are uncommon. In tandem since 1970, Yancey and Blanchard have helped grow Synovus from one bank in Columbus, Georgia, to a more than $19 billion diversified financial services company including 40 banks in 5 states and an 81.1 percent stake in a payment processing business. Yancey began as a commercial lending officer and is now president and chief operating officer (COO); Blanchard started as the company’s top executive (when Synovus was one bank in Columbus) and remains at the head of the table today. “I always tell him that one of his weaknesses is that he’s never known the thrill of being promoted,” Yancey jokes.

At the heart of their success are core values of care for one another and respect. “[Blanchard] has high expectations, but I’ve always come away with the sense that he cares about me and my growth,” Yancey told me. These same values are spread throughout Synovus’ organization and culture. All Synovus managers are trained in and expected to follow the company’s “Leadership Expectations” model:

1. Live the values. Among them are applying the “Golden Rule,” taking 100 percent responsibility, valuing differences, walking the talk, and having fun.

2. Share the vision. Yancey explains that managers at all levels are responsible for communicating Synovus’ vision.

3. Make others successful. Synovus leaders are charged with facilitating individual development, being accessible, and rewarding and recognizing people.

4. Manage the business. This is the nuts and bolts of getting the job done, Yancey says. Expectations include executing results within budget, thinking twice, and serving with high energy.

The model is one way Synovus ensures that its 11,400 team members feel valued. And certainly in that regard it appears to work—in 2003, Synovus was named number 9 on Fortune’s list of “Best Companies to Work For” in America.

In order for leaders to be successful at influencing and motivating people, their followers must have a solid answer to the question: Do you care about me? Leaders must visibly show followers that, yes, they do care, and this is done by developing the followers, recognizing them, and seeking to know and understand them.

While showing value for employees has lasting bottom line benefits in morale, quality, and productivity, a leader should not be motivated to demonstrate care and value for the organization’s benefit alone. Such a narrow view undermines the formula and ultimately provides a disappointing answer to the individual follower’s aforementioned question: Do you care about me? True leadership is built on a kind of social contract that says, “Follow me, and I promise that I will help you to succeed.” When this contract is not honored, the motivation behind a leader’s strategy of transparency is put to question, and followers are led to wonder about hidden agendas.

As a leader, are you doing enough to show your followers-that you care about them?

___ I know one aspect of work each of my people is dying to learn to do.

___ I am aware of what frustrates each person about the work he or she does.

___ I push people to do things when I think they are ready even if they do not think they are.

___ I set stretch goals with my people.

___ I share what I have learned in meetings with my staff.

___ I regularly give them articles or books to read about leadership.

___ I encourage them to tell their people about our company’s messages instead of me always doing it.

___ I attend their departmental meetings often.

___ I use informal and impromptu times to talk with each person about the challenges of his or her work.

___ I am often in the cafeteria or in people’s offices, encouraging people to ask me questions so that I can learn what is important to them.

___ Learning is a priority for me, and I encourage others to learn.

___ I make a point to share news about our industry and the marketplace.

___ I sometimes put people in a conference room and give them a problem to solve.

___ I encourage people to learn about other parts of the business.

___ I encourage team members to learn from one another.

___ I frequently turn an entire project over to a team member and tell him or her to run with it.

___ I always try to understand what my people are up against.

___ I consistently recognize individual efforts.