LetMeShip develops leadership training concept for middle management – Part 2

In the second part of this 3-part blog series, we explain the importance of developing leadership values and guidelines to create a unified approach to leadership and describe our process for developing them within the organisation.

Shared values and leadership guidelines at all management levels are the basis for successful business growth and transformation of LetMeShip. After the needs analysis, we jointly developed the values and guidelines in workshops. These were then communicated throughout the company in the course of a roadshow and have since been a fixed agenda item within the quarterly strategy meeting.

Developing leadership values and guidelines for creating a unified leadership approach

The development of leadership values and guidelines was of great importance to us at LetMeShip in order to create a unified approach to leadership. This allowed us to ensure that all employees have the same expectations and standards in terms of leadership and that the organisation as a whole is led in a cohesive and common direction. As a result, we first developed leadership values and derived leadership guidelines from them, which serve as the basis for a unified understanding of leadership. A unified understanding of leadership should also go hand in hand with a clear vision, mission and strategy for the organisation.

If all leaders and staff have the same idea of what the organisation wants to achieve and how to get there, they can achieve these goals together. Similarly, a unified leadership culture should also foster collaboration and employee motivation, as employees know what is expected of them and how they can succeed. A unified leadership approach can also help to avoid or minimise conflict and misunderstanding between managers and staff, as everyone has the same standards and expectations. Overall, a unified leadership approach can increase the effectiveness and efficiency of an organisation by ensuring that everyone is working in the same direction and pursuing the same goals. It is therefore an essential component on the path to achieving organisational goals.

Process of developing leadership values

LetMeShip’s leadership values were developed in a workshop with the senior management team, taking into account the company’s strategy as well as specific drivers and current challenges. During the workshop, it quickly became clear that the culture, togetherness and collaboration of all LetMeShippers were seen as key drivers and assets of the company, while the current transformation was seen as the biggest challenge. As a result, the LetMeShip leadership values were developed to reflect these drivers and challenges.

The values of responsibility, clarity, goal orientation, positivity, conflict resolution and reliability were developed. Together with the corporate values of team spirit, trust, integrity, engagement and appreciation, they form LetMeShip’s leadership values. These values were then presented to the entire organisation to ensure that all employees are aligned with the same principles.

Implementation of leadership values and guidelines

To ensure the successful implementation of the leadership guidelines, senior management held a workshop to internalise the guidelines and develop next steps for their implementation. After a kick-off event to communicate the guidelines, a roadshow is now being planned to communicate the values and guidelines throughout the organisation. During this roadshow, middle management will work with their teams to define concrete actions on how to live the guidelines and what monitoring and feedback systems should be implemented to ensure compliance. Senior management agreed to make the values and guidelines a fixed agenda item for quarterly strategy meetings. It was also decided to include additional questions related to the values and guidelines in the existing staff survey tool.