Too often, we publish values statements without considering what they look like in real life, identifying them in the workplace, and celebrating those who get it right. Without follow through those earnestly developed words become hollow successories without substance. Many of our clients have leaned into deeds over words this year—it’s been a rollercoaster for most.
The teams that are focusing on who they are, who they serve, why they do what they do, and what they do, animated by behaviors in line with their values, are making their way through the chaos. Like the old adage of the sailor who learns to discipline himself to the stars, the compass, and the charts, they are staying on course through choppy waters. It’s what great leaders and great organizations do.
I was steeped in the power of values as a young man in the 75th Ranger Regiment, the US Army’s premier special operations raid force. We remain the only unit in the military that, in addition to all the demanding requirements of any special operations assessment and selection, requires candidates to pass a history test and recite the Ranger Creed verbatim. Why?
Because our centuries-long lineage holds a cultural throughline of leadership, excellence, grit, integrity, and victory at all costs, and the creed reminds us of this. The creed is an articulation of our values. Written in 1974 by Command Sergeant Major Neal R. Gentry, “the Ranger Creed is a way of life; a guide for how Rangers conduct themselves. It is the source that binds through loyalty the individual to his Ranger buddies and to his unit.”
The third stanza reads, “Never shall I fail my comrades. I will always keep myself mentally alert, physically strong, and morally straight, and I will shoulder more than my share of the task, whatever it may be, one hundred percent and then some.” In our fast-paced, zero-defect environment, it was easy to pick out those who fell short. In the late 90s, we had a slew of Rangers get caught up in the rave scene, where the use of ecstasy (aka MDMA or Molly) was very common. Nearly every weekend, we would get alerted in the wee hours of the night, just to come in and take a urinalysis for drug use. Plenty of Rangers were released from the unit for testing hot.
It wasn’t so easy to pick out those who got our values right, though. Frankly, we did a poor job at that most days since the expectation was perfection. There were no high fives or fist bumps on the regular. “Atta boys” sounded more like, “you may make it here after all.” That was a mistake. And we had some senior leaders who had been around long enough to know it, like our Command Sergeant Major, Ralph Rocco, who had been in the Battalion at its inception in 1974.
He had a way of walking around, looking to catch Rangers doing right (a term introduced by Ken Blanchard in the 1982 bestseller, “The One Minute Manager”). The Senior leader looked for Rangers who demonstrated our values, including mental alertness, physical strength, and moral straightness, among others. He set an example by being slow to correct but quick to compliment, and he did so not only with his words but also with his actions and tokens of excellence that represented the values we espoused.
Anyone in the military will tell you that challenge coins are a big deal. Coins represent two key things: belonging and excellence. Holding a coin says you belong–you’re part of the team, or you’ve excelled–you went above and beyond and deserve recognition. CSM Rocco awarded me my first challenge coin. I was a 19-year-old Private. I can’t tell you exactly what I got it for, but I can tell you exactly where that coin is at 46 (prominently displayed in my liquor hutch in our flag room at the entrance of our home).
I can also tell you that it was the sparse moments of recognition that forged those character qualities in me, rather than the abundance of negative reinforcement — long smoke sessions, constant degradation, and unattainable time standards. It was always easy to know when I was getting it wrong, but hard to find when I was getting it right.
Don’t make your people guess…catch them doing right!
We can do this by communicating our values and expectations, demonstrating what they look like in real life, identifying them in the wild, and recognizing those teammates for all to see and emulate, thereby starting the cycle over again.
