We note with sadness the passing this week of Andy Griffith, who though he earned his living in Hollywood, never seemed to forget where he was from.

A visit to a Hollywood film lot (we highly recommend the Warner Brothers tour) comes with the admonition from tour guides, with evidence aplenty, that nothing there is at it seems. In many respects, that has become the norm throughout much of society, such that in so many respects, form, image, illusion, branding, the avatar, the lipstick on the pig takes precedence over reality.

Earlier this week I engaged in a brief (140 character) online joust with a recruiter buddy who was bemoaning what he considered undue focus on authenticity, and not enough on hard accomplishments. I replied to the effect that, whereas I, too have a healthy respect for results, I’d also like to see fewer people (and organizations) trying to appear authentic, and more actually being that way.

It called to mind a very fine presentation by Chick-fil-A’s Andy Lorenzen (Director, Talent Strategy & Systems) at the recent SHRM global conference in Atlanta. Mr. Lorenzen was refreshingly candid in the Q&A portion of his presentation, especially when responding to three different audience members who, each in their own way, asked if the devout Christian beliefs of the company’s founder and owners didn’t in some way (legal, ethical, or operational) cause workplace problems.

Each time, he patiently but persistently noted that Chick-fil-A is a privately held company whose owners do hold certain beliefs dear, and have a prescribed set of values for their business, but that they do not foist their religious beliefs on others. That said, he added, with equal emphasis, that people who are uncomfortable working in an environment where those beliefs shape the operating culture and norms would likely find that Chick-fil-A is not for them. Then, with a smile on his face but dead certainty in his voice, he added that one thing they do foist on people is that if you work for Chick-fil-A, you better be down with “sellin chicken” or chikin, as their billboards playfully put it.

Our work with high performance organizations and leaders of choice (they can usually be found in the same place) suggests in the strongest possible terms that these organizations, Chick-fil-A being but one example, have a very strong sense of who they are, where they’re going, and what they stand for. They aren’t bashful about it, and it doesn’t change overnight with their socks.

With help from John Wiley & Sons Publishing, we released last week the latest in our Contented Cows series of leadership books. Written largely at the request of those who wanted an update of our 1^st work, Contented Cows STILL Give Better Milk offers fresh examples, a new and even more compelling business case, and some largely unheralded exemplars that we can all take lessons from. Indeed, one of those lessons is that our authenticity, at both personal and organizational levels represents the greatest key to bridging the trust gap which is perhaps the biggest problem that every business leader faces today.

We hope that you will purchase a copy from your favorite bookseller (it’s available in all popular formats), read it, and then be among the first to review it online at BarnesandNoble.com or Amazon.com.

*****

A pathfinder in the arena of leadership and employee engagement, Bill Catlette is a seminar leader, keynote speaker, and executive coach. He helps individuals and organizations improve business outcomes by having a focused, engaged, capably led workforce. He is co-author of the Contented Cows leadership book series, and Rebooting Leadership. For more information about Bill, his partner Richard Hadden, and their work, please visit their website, or follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/ContentedCows

This weekend I was honored to have sung at the funeral of a man in our church. I didn’t know him well, but I knew him, and what I always saw was an upbeat, friendly, kind, and warm guy, whose interest always seemed projected outward – toward others – not inward. I was surprised to learn he was in his 80′s. I would have thought much younger.

What was not a surprise was a story the minister told about Lloyd, to the large congregation assembled to celebrate and honor his long life. During Lloyd’s last hospital stay, the minister was visiting him one morning when a middle-aged male nurse popped his head into the room and asked, almost without waiting to hear a reply, if Lloyd needed anything.

“Yes,” said Lloyd, “I do. I need to talk to you. Do you have a minute?” Not really, but he’d make time. Lloyd, whose cancer was draining the life from him, told the nurse, through a genuine smile, that he had chosen to return to this particular hospital for his continued treatments primarily because of the outstanding nursing care he had received on earlier visits. This nurse, however, Lloyd was sorry to say, had not lived up to his high expectations. “You’re inattentive and brusque, and too rough. I’m an old man, in lots of pain, and you sometimes handle me like I’m a football player in here for knee surgery.

“Often, you’ve forgotten to do things you said you’d do. And I have to tell you that last night, you were talking loudly, all night, at your station right outside my room, and it kept me awake.”

Lloyd, an electrical engineer with an MBA, had served in senior leadership roles in the Bell System. He told the nurse that he stood out from his co-workers, and not in a good way, and not because he was one of the few male nurses there. But because he simply didn’t do his job as well as the others did theirs.

“I’ll be going into hospice care in a few days, and the way you do your job won’t really make much more difference to me. But it will to all the others who come in here after me. And it’ll make a difference to the people you work with.

“You don’t need to change a lot,” Lloyd told the guy, “but I think if you’d slow down a little, listen a little better, be a little gentler in your approach, and follow through better on your commitments to your patients, you’d go from being a good nurse, to a great one. Will you try to do that? Not just for me, but for you?”

The minister made the point that although Lloyd had been clear in giving the nurse some unsolicited performance feedback, he had done it in such a kind and caring way, that at least the nurse had stopped, and listened.

The leadership consultant in me observed from the story that Lloyd had followed, to the letter, the fundamentals of effective feedback. He’d been clear. He didn’t muddle the message with weasel words. He didn’t dance around the issue. Nor did he bash the guy over the head with it. Perhaps he was bringing his engineering education to bear on the conversation. He knew that too much pressure would cause the system to break, but that too little would be fruitless.

Lloyd provided clear and reasonable expectations, specific performance observations, and definable suggestions for specific behavior change. And he wrapped it all in a genuine sense of caring for the object of his feedback. That is the definition of a good performance coach.

After the service, the minister and I were talking. I told him I enjoyed hearing the story of the nurse. A sheepish look came over his face as he said, “Thanks. But I would never have told that story if I’d known the nurse was going to be in the congregation. I didn’t see him until later in the eulogy, and besides, he looks different in a suit and tie.”

And sometimes we, as leaders, fail to give needed feedback because we’re afraid they won’t like us anymore.

Richard Hadden is a leadership speaker, author, and consultant who helps organizations improve their business results by virtue of a focused, engaged, capably led workforce. He and Bill are the authors of the acclaimed business classic Contented Cows Give Better Milk, and Contented Cows MOOve Faster, and the brand new book Rebooting Leadership. Learn more about them and their work at ContentedCows.com.

I know the US Senate has a lot of important issues to deal with, like the lousy economy, high unemployment, two wars, and health care, so please forgive me if I winge for a moment about something less important, but nonetheless significant: the conduct of one Senator who knows how to behave well, but chose not to.

According to Politico.com, New York Senator Charles Schumer continued talking on his cell phone after USAirways flight attendants had instructed passengers to turn off all electronic devices.

After issuing the general instruction to all passengers (to include, presumably, US Senators), the flight attendant approached Schumer and told him the entire plane was waiting on him to shut down his phone. The senator argued with her, and was then quoted as saying, “It’s Harry Reid calling. I guess health care will have to wait until we land.”

Puh-leaaaaze…

As a final show of class, professionalism, and maturity, the senator then called the flight attendant a word also used to identify female dogs. In fairness, as one blogger has pointed out, she insulted him first, by calling him a senator. Still…

The incident was reported by a fellow passenger, an aide for the opposing party, but has not been denied by Schumer. In fact, Schumer had a spokesperson apologize on his behalf. I’d love to have someone I could pay to take the heat for me when I screw up. As often as that happens, I probably couldn’t afford one , but thankfully for Schumer, we provide him with a staff budget capacious enough to allow for such a person.

There’s a lot wrong with this incident, if it’s true. For starters…

• Senators are supposed to be public servants. Not public tyrants.
• Every time I fly, I’m warned that “failure to comply with crewmember instructions is a federal offense.” Consider the senator a federal offender. You and I would have been escorted off the plane to visit with two uniformed men with heads disproportionate to their bodies.
• If Schumer’s public language is indicative of the way he regards women, I’m not impressed.

People are looking for authenticity in their leaders. Authentic leaders:

• realize others are watching, and behave as admirable examples, even when no one is watching
• realize rules apply to them just as they do to others
• are as kind and considerate to the person who pushes a broom (or an airline drinks cart) as they are to their fellow country club members
• know that they put their pants and skirts on the same way everyone else does
• apologize sincerely, and in person when they make a mistake

Shame on you, Senator Schumer, surrogate apology notwithstanding.

Richard Hadden (twitter at http://twitter.com/rehadden) is a leadership speaker, author, and consultant who helps organizations improve their business results by creating a great place to work. He and Bill are the authors of the new book Contented Cows MOOve Faster, as well as the acclaimed business classic Contented Cows Give Better Milk. Learn more about them and their work at ContentedCows.com.

Earlier today, former NFL star quarterback, Michael Vick was released from federal prison in Leavenworth after serving most of a 23 month sentence for his principal involvement in a dog fighting ring. The burning question now is, should NFL Commissioner, Roger Goodell allow Vick to return to the game?

Were I counseling Mr. Goodell, I would urge him to send the following letter to Mr. Vick, today.

Dear Michael,

I am happy to learn that, earlier today, you completed a key step in your recovery from a tragic mistake in your life. All of us in the NFL are rooting for your continued progress on this journey.

Should you make an appeal at this time to have your suspension from the NFL lifted, thus permitting a return to active player status, I want you to know where I currently stand on the issue.

Michael, you are without question a talented player, and I believe at heart, a decent person. That said, I am not presently inclined to respond favorably to such a request, should it to be made. While it is true that you have “served your time” and have every right to earn a living, there are two key principles at work here:

1. You didn’t just break the law and commit a crime against the state. Your actions were also obviously and significantly detrimental to the League, the game, the hundreds of fellow players, coaches, and support staff who today make their living playing professional football, and all those who will take our places in the future. Your actions demonstrated careless disregard for the tenet that it is a privilege and not a right for us to play this game for a living. Further, in addition to the crime for which you were punished, you broke faith with your team owner, Mr. Blank, by misleading him, as you did me (I’m being charitable here), about your involvement in this activity.

2. While my current inclination may seem harsh, especially in light of lenience shown to other players who have run afoul of the law (and perhaps it is), I would hasten to point out that Michael Vick was not just another football player. During your time in the League, you were considered (and paid) as a “franchise player”, someone who in many respects was a key face of the franchise, and indeed the game. In other words, the bar is significantly higher in this case, a standard that, as a top level professional athlete, you are quite familiar with.

Michael, serving your time is but one step on the road to redemption. As I see it, full redemption in your case involves “making it right” for all those who have been injured as a result of your thoughtless actions. Though I cannot at this point anticipate a particular condition or set of conditions that would permit your return to the game, I’m willing to leave that in your hands should you choose to attempt a return to player status. In that event, should you (not your attorneys or agents) wish at some time to make a thoughtful proposal that fully remediates this situation, I promise you that the League will at least entertain it. Bear in mind, however, that the aforementioned bar will continue to be set high, for all of us.

Good luck and Godspeed.

A thought leader in the arena of leadership and employee engagement, Bill Catlette is a seminar leader, keynote speaker, and executive coach. He helps individuals and organizations improve business outcomes by having a focused, engaged, capably led workforce. For more information about Bill, his partner Richard Hadden, and their work, please visit their website at www.contentedcows.com

Earl Kitchings died this week at the age of 82. He was a legend here in Jacksonville, as a pioneering football coach – the head coach of Florida’s first African-American state championship team – that was back in 1958, when we had white teams and black teams.

During those years, Coach Kitchings helped groom the late Hall of Fame player Bob Hayes, at Matthew Gilbert High School.  Hayes, once known as the “World’s Fastest Man”, went on to win an Olympic Gold Medal, and to play for the Dallas Cowboys. He’s the only man to win both Olympic Gold and a Super Bowl ring.

But more than any of that, Earl Kitchings was simply a jewel of a man. It will never be possible to measure the positive influence he had on the young people of his community, for more than 50 years. Though he and his wife had only one child of their own, he was a father figure to hundreds for at least two generations.

And positive influence seems to run in the family. I had the great pleasure of working with Coach Kitchings’s wife, Elaine, back in the 70′s. I was in high school, and worked part-time at the local branch of the public library. Doesn’t sound like a great job, and in fact, the work wasn’t all that great. But some of the people were.  Elaine Kitchings was one of my favorites, and we managed to stay in touch for many years. She’s one of the classiest ladies I’ve ever known.

On this Easter weekend, one of the things I’m thankful for is people like Earl and Elaine Kitchings.

Richard Hadden is a leadership speaker, author, and consultant who helps organizations improve their business results by creating a great place to work. He and Bill are the authors of the new book Contented Cows MOOve Faster, as well as the acclaimed business classic Contented Cows Give Better Milk. Learn more about them and their work at ContentedCows.com.