THEFORMULA FOR PROFITABILITY
IH ⇢ C ⇢ EH :(E= potentialˆ∞) ⇢ R= PGD
GR OW TH AND DEVELOP MENT FOR ALL TEAMS, INDUST RIE SA ND OR GAN IZ AT IO NS
Niclas Timmerby
THE FORMULAFOR PROFITABILITY, GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
FOR ALL TEAMS,INDUSTRIES ANDORGANIZATIONS
When you, as aleader,shift your focustoculture insteadof concentrating on targets, magic happens right beforeyour eyes.
Niclas Timmerby
Publisher: BoD· BooksonDemand,
Östermalmstorg1,114 42 Stockholm, bod@bod.se
Printer: LibriPlureos GmbH,Friedensallee273, 22763 Hamburg, Tyskland
©2024 Niclas Timmerby
Graphicsandlayout by Niclas Timmerby
Image of nebula on cover created by Thomas Budach
ISBN: 978-91-8080-918-4
TableofContents Foreword7
Introduction 10
TheFoundation
ASituational Leadership 16
BFocus on influencing results or culture35
CControl systems or passion andwill59
DResults- or values-driven leadership 88
EAssessment or development culture123
TheProcess
Chapter 1What, why,and how171
Chapter 2IH180
Chapter 3The culture 215
Chapter 4EH247
Chapter 5The potential 271
Chapter 6The reputation 292
Chapter 7Profitability,growth, and success 323
TheFormulafor profitability, growthand development
FDoyou see the stones? 349
GTrust-based leadership: Building ahouse 363
HContinuity,the leader'sreflections391
Selection of previousclients 404
BooksbyNiclas Timmerby405
Reflection pages for you as aleader: A: 33-34, B: 58, C: 87,D:121, E: 170, F: 362, G, 389-390. Chapter 2: 214, Chapter 3: 246, Chapter4:270, Chapter 5: 291, Chapter 6: 322, Chapter 7: 348.
FOREWORD
Money can determine whatyou do. Your passiondetermineshow youdoit.
Niclas Timmerby
This book has beeninmymindand hasaccompaniedmefor the last fifteen years. Gradually,the thoughtshavebecome more concrete, and through reflectionsand notes, they have evolved into ideas.From these ideas, amethodology emerged that Ibegan to useincoaching conversations. Consequently,a process with specific stepswas developed to makethe methodology applicableand repeatable,even after Ihave completed my part.
Forthe past twelveyears, Ihave employed the methodology in a structured manner in trainingprogrammesfor both small and large groups, as well as in lectures accompaniedbyvarioustools and workshops. Ihave applied the methodology in companies,government bodies,municipal organisations, trade unions, vocationalschools, and sportsclubs.
Now is the time to formalise this into atheory on paper (or digitally,ifyou choose thatoption). Ihave experienced immense joy when Ihave seen leadersdiscover awholenew way to lead—leading with astructured methodology that genuinelycomes from the heart.
If youfindthe couragetoleadfromthe heart, yougenuinelytouch people; when you touchpeople, the person in frontofyou changes. When individuals in ateamchange, it simultaneously affects the culture/atmosphere in the shared working environment whereyou spendtime, collaborate, and shareknowledge andexperiences.
This influence shapes andmolds allthe individuals involved. It alters theway of communicating, therelationships, and the overalldynamics within the team. When the culture changes, the team's shared values and the informal rules are simultaneously reshaped into
"Cultureeatsstrategy for breakfast.”
-Peter Drucker
something new, leadingtochanges in behaviors, attitudes,and levels of trust, reliability, performance, morale, and principles.
When you, as aleader,systematicallyemploy themethodology in this book,you will discoversignificant synergyeffects on manylevelsin your professional life. My ambition is that this book will also encourage you to reflect on yourself as an individual, whereyou toohavevarious teams such as family, friends,acquaintances, peer groups,networks, associations, andmore.
To makethe variousconceptsthatcan describe "a group of people working together"moretangible,I will use the term "entity"throughout the book.
"Entity" is employed as acomposite termtorefer to organisations, companies,participants, sports teams, workteams,departments, associations, institutions, and other units that collaborate to achieve common goals and ambitions.
My ambitionwiththis book is to present atheoryand methodology that suggests thatifa leader focuses on creating and maintaining a corporate culture thatvalues participation, trust,and safety, this methodology has agreater potentialtofoster and sustainlong-term profitability,quality indaily work, andefficiency within an entity than if the leader concentrates solely on target figures andobjectives. Job satisfaction and reducedemployee turnover areadded benefits.
INTRODUCTION
People arelikeflowers; in theright environment,anyonecan flourish.
Niclas Timmerby
Regardless of the type ofentity youoperate within, culture exists as something invisibletothe eye thatinfluences people's will, desire,and energy, anditissostrongthatyou cannot shakeitnomatterhow strong or powerful you are.
Agood culturecannot be purchased regardless of howmany billions areput on the table; it is alsoimpossible to buy amachine thatcreates a good andsustainable culture, norcan aspeaker or educatorquickly "fix" the culture.
Letusstartfromthe beginning. Thewordculture comesfromthe Latinword ”colere",later "cultura" which can be translated to cultivation. Thewordhas evolvedfrom describing agriculture to being usedduring the Roman Empireto describeintellectual andaesthetic activities such as art, literature, music, and theater,aswell as educationand development.Inthe 1960s, researchers and business leaders begantotakeaninterest in the impact thatthe entity's values, norms, and behaviors hadon performanceand employeewell-being
Theconceptof"corporateculture"was created and quickly became popular in the following decades. Formanyyears, it hasbeen an important part of business managementand organizational theory. Over time,the meaning of the wordhas expanded, andtoday it is also used to describesocial and intellectual activities of agroup or community (an entity).
Today,the term "corporateculture" is commonly usedtodescribethe shared values, norms, traditions, working methods,interactions, behaviours, andattitudes that characterisea company andits employees.
Research and studiesalsodemonstratethe importanceofcontinuously promoting and maintaining apositive culture, regardless of theentity.
Here arefive examples:
1. Astudy from HarvardBusinessReview shows thatcompanieswith a strong corporateculturehave higherproductivity, better customer satisfaction, and lower employee turnover thancompanieswitha weak corporateculture.
2. Aresearch reportfromMIT SloanManagement Review indicates that companies with astrong corporatecultureare betterequipped to handlechanges andchallenges in arapidly changing business environment.
3. Astudy from Deloitteshows thatcompanieswith astrongcorporate culturehave ahigher degree of innovation andare moreadaptable to changes than companies with aweakcorporateculture.
4. Astudy from Gallup showsthatcompanieswith astrongcorporate culturehave ahigher levelofengagement amongtheir employees, leading to higher productivity,lower absenteeism, andlower employee turnover.
5. Asurvey from Glassdoorindicates thatcompanies with high ratings on corporatecultureonGlassdoor.com (a platform for reviewing employers) have higher stock returns thancompanies with lowratings on corporateculture.
Thesynergy effectofplacing astrong emphasisonvalues and/or a shared foundation of values has alsobeen demonstrated.
Hereare three examples of studies andreports that demonstratethe effect of workingwith avalues-driven leadershiptopositively influence corporateculture:
1. Astudy published in the journal "Organization Science" examined companiesthathad implemented astrong values-based corporate culture.The resultsshowedthatthese companieshad higher profitabilityand better financial performance compared to companies thatdid not haveasstrong avalues-based culture.
2. Areportfromthe CorporateLeadership Council studied over 50,000 employees in various organizations and found thatcompanies with a strong corporateculturebased on shared values hadhigher employee engagementand better financialperformance.
3. Astudy published in the "Journal of Business Ethics" examined companiesthathad aclear and communicative value base.The results showed thatthese companies had higherprofitability andbetter financial performance compared to companies that did not have as clear andcommunicative foundation of values.
All employees arelooking to the leader,sometimes witha criticaleye, as the leader must provide clear directionand demonstratehow the entity will achieve itsgoals.
Whatessential conditions arereasonablefor the leadertoestablishfor each team member in ordertoset expectations andmaximise the potential of bothindividuals andthe entity?
Hereare concepts thatIwill gradually explaininthe book:
-Wheredowewanttogo(the entity's vision)?
-How will we get theretogether (the leader's mission)?
-Whatare the rules we have establishedamong team members (the team’sshared foundation of values)?
-Has the leader communicated emotional information in the form of motivation, mutual expectations,and aclear direction?
-Dowegenuinely have an open culturesupportedbyanaccepted feedback culture?
-Isthereastructurefor tailored coaching to assist team members in their personal and professional growth?
-Dowetrust each other enough to be willing to "runthrough firefor oneanother"?Inother words, does the leaders practisea trust-based, values-driven leadership thatfosters aculture of development, enabling everyone to growintheir roles and as individuals within our entity?
So,whatdoyou nurtureasa leaderevery day in everyphysicaland digital meeting,duringbrief spontaneous conversations, andinlonger planned discussions, in performance reviews, and whenyou communicate viaemail, text, or your organisation's intranet?
Whatdoyou cultivatewhen you entera room through the hormones you relentlessly and constantlyemit without uttering aword, and whatdoyou leave behind in thatspace?
Whatdoyou nurturethatpropels your team forwardwhen you speak in front of several team membersorinsituations whereyou encounter team membersoutsideofwork hours (ataplanned after-work event,inthe evening following akickoff, or spontaneously "bumping into" ateammemberduring your leisuretime)?
In summary,how do youinfluence your organisation throughyour character andpersonality?
Areyou influenced by others in your leadershipstyle,orare you shaped by yourown genuineness?
Thewordshaped originally comesfromthe Latinword imprimere which in Ancient Rome described the actionofpressing somethingontoa material.Much later inGermany,the word prägen (later preigen) described how someoneorsomethingisshaped or influenced by various factors.
Self-awareness is yourmostimportant toolasaleader. Dareyou to be genuine?Regardless, youasaleader influence the cultureinyourentity at everymoment. It's very simple: either your team thrives or it does not.
A
Situational leadership
Aleader without passionislikea dancer without body language. Niclas Timmerby
LE ADER'S GUIDE TO AWEL L- BEING CULTUR E,
LOYA LTEAMS, ANDLOYAL CUSTOMERS
“A leader doesnot raise theirvoice; they raise the level.”
Is there aform ula that can createlong-t erm positive out come s, growth,passion, efficiency, acceptance of ro les ,accou ntab ilit y, engagement, andthe pe rsona l deve lopment of employe es, regar dle ss of th eo rganisational form, wh eth er it is asportsteam, adepar tm en t, ab oard, acompany,ag roup of busi ne ss leaders, fran ch isees, managers ,o ranentir eo rgani sat i on?
As al eader,h ow can youcultivate an envir onmentwhere ateam performs at th ei rh ig he st level ,d esir es auto nomy, takes responsibi li ty,and act ively co nt ri bu te st ot he organi sati on’svis io n,goals ,ambitions, andsuccess?
This book serves as ap racti cal gu idefor youasa leader,c ontainingc lear stepby-step process descripti ons, studi e sthatd em onstrate facts and correlations, re fl ec ti on fo rmanageme nt team s, 15 pages fo rsel f-reflection, and 47 sel fassessment questionsf or your leader ship an ds elf-leadership. It also includes ap pl ic ab le wo rkshops and concr et etools such as: the Trust Wheel, Niclas’s Traffic Light, four levels of feedbackf or all gen erations and cultures, tailored coaching throught he “iceberg” model ,conflictmanagement ,and muchmore.
Pivotal elements within change m anagem ent in clude:
-H ow you, as al eader, ensu re th at signi ficant decisions and chan ge ma na ge me nt ar es uccessf ul l yimpl ement ed in alignment with cultural va lue s.
-H ow you, as al eader, clar ify an dcommunicate mutu al expe ctations and a sh ared perspective for your team .
-How you, as al eader, stabi l i se int ernal hosp it ality.
“Leadership is very littleabout what yousay; it is about what the people around youf l” feel.”
