MIAMI DOLPHINS: LEADERSHIP, ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE AND EMPTY WORDS

by Doug Guthrie

Recently, I wrote about the issue of leadership, accountability and the case of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. I argued that leaders are responsible for creating organizational cultures; and, regardless of whether Chris Christie, Jamie Dimon or Barack Obama are knowledgeable about the things going on under their watches, each leader is responsible for creating the culture that signals to people in their organization what type of behavior is acceptable and what is not.

In the last few months we have witnessed another public drama of organizational culture run amok – the case of the Miami Dolphins football team. Thanks to the Wells Report and plenty of media coverage, we have learned the full extent of the locker room bullying, racial slurs and harassment inflicted on Dolphins offensive lineman Jonathan Martin by teammates Richie Incognito, John Jerry and Mike Pouncey. The 144-page report was an indictment of the failed management of offensive line coach Jim Turner and long-time head athletics trainer Kevin O’Neill.

What struck me was the curious statement from Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross as he fired Turner and O’Neill. He left little room for doubt about where he stood on the report and the issue of bullying, stating, “The language and behavior as described in the Ted Wells report are against the core values of our organization.”

With all due respect, Mr. Ross, there is a mountain of evidence to the contrary. The best evidence of the values of an organization is how people inside the organization behave. The sad reality is that the behavior of these individuals, almost by definition, reflects the values of the organization and not your words.

It is all too clear that the values of the Miami Dolphins organization can be found in the behavior of Incognito, Jerry and Pouncey. Now, this type of behavior might not reflect your stated values, Mr. Ross, but it is naïve to think that these incidents are the result of rogue employees acting independent of the cultural signals they received on a daily basis.

The problem here is one of leadership and a misunderstanding of the full responsibilities of leadership. Far too frequently, leaders think that organizational culture and values are about words. Too often leaders stand on a soapbox, proclaim “Our organizational values are impeccable,” and then think that their employees will fall in line. Unfortunately, organizational culture and leadership are so much more complex. Leaders who don’t understand this are simply naïve or incompetent. Part of the ill of capitalism today is that leaders are ignorant of or refuse to accept the extent of their responsibilities.

The situation with the Dolphins organization reminded me of an experience I had some years ago that drove this issue home. In 2007, I was working with a large-scale financial institution on building an executive education program about leadership and accountability in the organization. As we were negotiating the final details of the engagement, I said to the CFO, “Now I need you to do one more thing for me… I need you to open some doors so I can talk to a significant number of people in the organization – at all levels of the organization.” He looked at me quizzically: “Why would you want to do that?” he asked. I said, with somewhat of a well-isn’t-that-obvious tone in my voice, “Well, I need to understand the culture of this organization. I need to hear firsthand how people at all levels of the organization experience the culture.” There was a prolonged pause, and then, as if a light-bulb of a solution went off in the CFO’s head, he excitedly exclaimed, “What perfect timing. You don’t have to waste your time talking to anyone because our CEO just made a DVD articulating what our company’s culture and values are. Everyone in the organization has watched it at this point. It’s mandatory. So all you have to do is watch that, and we’ll all be on the same page.” I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. It was the quintessential example of leaders thinking all they have to do is declare the culture and values rather than doing the hard work of building the organizational structure that supports the desired culture and values. All I will say of this organization is it did not fare well in the ensuing financial crisis.

Building a healthy organization takes so much more than words and sentiment. It is hard work. It takes deep thought about how to put in place the right structures that will signal to workers what the collective set of values and beliefs are that define the organization. While most leaders and senior executives think they should be above the fray of organizational structure and design, the opposite is actually true. Excellent leaders think deeply about their organization’s structure and design; they think carefully about how to make their organization’s structures align with the culture and values they are trying to promote. Strong leaders engage in these issues carefully and they hire executives who understand these connections as well.

Fuente: Forbes

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