I recently attended the inauguration of Roz Mallet as the new board chair of the National Restaurant Association. It was a special moment for the restaurant industry…Roz is the industry association’s first black woman to chair the National Restaurant Association. This is a big deal…if you are not familiar with the restaurant industry, you should know that the restaurant industry is one of our nation’s largest private sector employers (over 12.9 million jobs) and over one-half of all adults have worked in the restaurant industry at some point in their lives, and one-third received their first job experience in a restaurant (see www.restaurant.org).
During the event, Roz received words of encouragement from many industry leaders and board members. One of the most powerful pieces of advice was that, as the Board Chair of the NRA, Roz should remember that people will always be watching her. The advice was intended to remind Roz that in her role as board chair, the eyes of the restaurant industry will be on her. No matter if she is ordering at a fast food restaurant or walking the dog, the position of board chair has more significance than just her work on the board. She is representative of the organization, and how she behaves and interacts with people reflects on the organization as a whole…a great reminder for anyone in a leadership position.
The Board’s Impact on the Organization’s Culture
As I reflect on that advice, it is also a strong reminder of the board’s impact on the culture and values of an organization. By appointing an entrepreneurial black woman as its board chair, the National Restaurant Association has sent a strong message that it values, supports and promotes diversity. This is a powerful message to an industry that represents a remarkably diverse group of employees, leaders and owners. Roz mentioned that during her visits to various restaurants, many employees had already expressed their pride in the N.R.A.’s choice of Roz as board chair.
Organizations send clear messages to their constituents by their choices in leadership and the composition of their boards. An organization with a value statement that includes ‘innovation’ as a core value should be mindful to include board members who not only have a strong track record of innovation but also bring a diversity of thought and experience to the board room. Moreover, an organization that includes ‘caring’ as a core value should remind board members that this behavior should be exemplified in all aspects of their lives.
This is easier said than done. The words used in an organization’s statements of its values (e.g. innovation, caring, excellence, diversity, etc.) can have different meanings to different individuals. For example, ‘excellence’ can mean a grade of 85 to one student but a grade of 100 to another. The best way I’ve seen organizations establish common meaning for values is by story-telling. At Buca, the leadership began every large employee meeting by selecting one of our core values, e.g. justice, and telling a story with an example of a situation where we saw the value in action.
Ensuring a common understanding of your organization’s values is the best way to make sure that everyone in your organization is ‘walking the talk’ and behaving as if ‘people are watching’. It’s important for boards to understand that their role reaches beyond the boardroom; they are also ambassadors of the organization’s brand – its culture, its values and its constituents.
New Idea: Values Review in the Boardroom
Here is a quick idea on how to bring the discussion of values into the board room without creating a major agenda item: open every board meeting with a story about one of your organization’s values and how it has been demonstrated in the organization. Encourage board members to rotate the assignment to open the meeting. Following the meeting, share the story with your organization. Let your organization know that the board supports and is engaged with the values of the organization.
Remember, people are always watching.
imagecredit:restaurant.org
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Kaye O’Leary is the Governance Editor for Innovation Excellence and is a founding partner of Tevera Consulting. Tevera Consulting is dedicated to helping companies strengthen the link between strategy and governance and drive the execution of strategy and value-added governance. With Tevera Consulting, Kaye has served as the interim CFO of Shock Doctor Inc. and Caribou Coffee (NASDAQ: CBOU), and has advised a number of public and private companies on a variety of board governance and strategic growth projects.
I think there is a real need for boards to stop being quite so arrogant and get down and dirty with their people.
‘Caring’ as you say in your example, is not just about big strategic aspirations that look good on a press release, it’s about knowing what ‘caring’ looks and feels like to your regular worker and really understanding what it means to them in their relationships with the organization.
Too many organizations say they care, but what they mean is that they think they care. Without every single employee feeling and experiencing that they do, it means nothing and indeed can even be insulting.
There, got that off my chest!
Excellent article, Kaye. Kudos to the National Restaurant Association for selecting Roz Mallet as their new board chair. I also like your idea of bringing the discussion of values in the boardroom through storytelling.
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