Lead with Intent: Leadership Principles and practices that Drive Engagement and Profitability

By Hermann du Plessis

In this ground-breaking book, Hermann du Plessis reveals nine leadership principles and practices that drive engagement and commitment in the workplace. His holistic approach and fully integrated engagement model are based on the fundamentals of effective leadership. Fully engaged people work together towards the attainment of a common, aspirational vision. They volunteer their intelligence, energy, loyalty and contribution. Fully engaged people accept co-responsibility as they feel that they belong, are respected, trusted and appreciated. Scientific studies provide convincing evidence that only fully engaged people deliver outstanding results on a sustainable basis.

 

Reviews

 

"Hermann draws on many years of personal corporate experience, as well as his in-depth knowledge of leadership literature to offer us principles and practices that will enable you and me to become more authentic and effective servant-leaders wherever we may live and work. I commend this labour of love and competence". — Trevor Hudson, Author of 22 books including Discovering God's Will for Your Life.

 

"In my view, the adoption and implementation of the recommended leadership philosophy and practices outlined in this book will deliver meaningful, tangible and intangible benefits to organisations, as well as the most potent competitive advantage you could wish for — inspired, fully engaged and motivated people. It is the best way to futureproof your business in these uncertain times". — Brand Pretorius, Former Chief Executive of McCarthy Motor Holdings; Honorary Professor in Business Management; Leadership Mentor and Coach; Non-Executive Director.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Hermann du Plessis
• Release date: Mar 8, 2022
• ISBN: 9780620966221

Book preview

Preface

Effective leadership unleashes human advantage by optimising engagement. Fully engaged people work together towards the attainment of a common aspirational vision. They behave in line with shared values. More importantly, they volunteer their intelligence, energy, loyalty and contribution. Fully engaged people accept co-responsibility as they feel that they belong and are respected, trusted and appreciated. Scientific studies conducted locally and internationally provide convincing evidence that only fully engaged people deliver outstanding results sustainably.

In this ground-breaking book, Hermann du Plessis reveals nine leadership principles and practices that drive engagement and therefore commitment. His holistic approach and fully integrated Engagement Model are based on the fundamentals of effective leadership. In-depth research in the workplace conducted by TTLI over the past 16 years gave rise to a unique multi-dimensional way of measuring employee engagement in addition to the development of comprehensive guidelines regarding those leadership practices that optimise engagement. The methodology is uniquely South African but the mobilisation of international best practice makes it world class.

He provides compelling evidence that this unique TTLI engagement model and recommended leadership practices deliver astounding results. The model creates a workplace where humanity flourishes, where human potential is unleashed and where productivity, performance and results follow. In my opinion, the practical implementation of his advice tends to reframe and transform the work environment in many ways. Based on a significant number of case studies, it proved to be an outstanding investment in ensuring sustainable organisational effectiveness and business success.

I had the privilege to spend the last 48 years in leadership positions in the tough world of business. Based on what I experienced and learnt from both success and failure, I can state with conviction that there is perfect alignment between Hermann’s proposed approach to leadership and employee engagement, on the one hand, and, on the other, mine. The fundamentals of what we believe in and stand for are the same.

Hermann and my paths crossed 11 years ago when his charmingly accomplished wife, Adél, introduced us to each other. From the moment we met he impressed me with his formidable intellect, unquestionable integrity and extensive knowledge of the art and science of leadership and human behaviour.

Because we have so much in common, both our professional and our personal relationships blossomed. He has earned my trust, respect, confidence and admiration because of his passion, competence and commitment. Most importantly, as a true servant leader himself, he glorifies his Creator by following in the footsteps of the most outstanding servant leader of all time: Jesus Christ. The delivery mechanism of Hermann’s considerable perspective, insight, knowledge and wisdom is the quality of his humanity.

In my view, the adoption and implementation of the recommended leadership philosophy and practices outlined in this book will deliver meaningful tangible and intangible benefits to organisations, as well as the most potent competitive advantage you could wish for – inspired, fully engaged and motivated people. It is the best way to futureproof your business in these uncertain times!

Brand Pretorius

Former Chief Executive of McCarthy Motor Holdings;

Honorary Professor of Business Management;

Leadership Mentor and Coach; Non-Executive Director.

16 September 2021

1

The context of leadership

Leadership should always be placed in a specific context. My favourite example to illustrate this point can be found in the former fiery British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill. During the Second World War, Winston Churchill had the perfect context in which to use his amazing abilities – calling for the successful rearmament of the British Army to counter the threat of Hitler and his mighty German army. Because of his drive to stand and persevere against the German forces, he became one of the most significant figures of the 20th century. Movies are still being made and books are still being written about Winston Churchill, all because of his resolve during the Second World War. In 1945, after the war, he lost the general election as the Conservative Leader in Britain. He became the leader of the opposition, but won the 1951 general election to become the leader of the Conservative Party once again.

In 1951 the context was totally different from that of 1940. The war was over and Britain started losing its grip on most of its colonies. A different skillset of leadership was needed, and Winston Churchill did not have the right skills for the context of the early 1950s. If his leadership ability had to be judged based on his term as Prime Minister from 1951 to 1955, few of us would have remembered Winston Churchill. What this illustrates is that when it comes to leadership, context does matter.

This book places leadership in a specific context: it focuses on leadership principles and practices that lead to an engaged workforce. I believe in staff engagement. The research is overwhelming: Engaged employees are more productive, more innovative and more profitable to a company than disengaged employees. Various consulting firms, academic institutions and training providers have done sufficient research to prove the value of engaged employees.

We (that is, my colleagues and I) have also realised the essential nature of staff engagement through our work with clients. In 2007, we started working in a division of one specific international corporate company. It was a fairly lowkey intervention initially, but as we showed promising results, we were asked to get more involved with the business. When we started working with the division back in 2007, they had a high turnover of staff and their performance levels begged improvement. As we worked with the Executive and Senior Management in this division, we identified certain shortcomings and dealt with those to the best of our ability. Over the next decade their rating rose in the internal engagement survey, until they were rated number one from 2017 through to 2020. Out of 50 000 employees, they outscored every other division in the company, also scoring double the average of the entire organisation. In 2019 we started asking questions about how this could have happened. Surely this was no accident; we had to understand how we had produced these kinds of results with this client.

We started analysing the interventions and had debriefing sessions with management at all levels. We retraced our steps over the years and held workshops with the Executive and Senior Management to get input from their experiences. After our own case study analyses, we went back to the literature and revisited all the Engagement models, theories and systems we had studied for years. After 15 years of experience, reflecting on it with clients, and studying many books and academically published research on Engagement, we are confident that we have systematically developed an Engagement model that could add value to businesses looking to increase their levels of staff engagement.

What did we do with the model? We defined it, described it, and illustrated it. We made sure we understood it. We then designed an Engagement questionnaire which would analyse the different sections of the Engagement Model. To ensure that the questions analysed what we wanted them to, we ran experiments with teams in bigger companies, but also in smaller businesses. In this way we could make sure the model translated into all kinds of business in various sectors of the economy. In some businesses we had to change the terminology we used or explain some of the terminology to make sure the questions made sense to employees.

We also approached new business prospects and offered to do the Engagement assessment free of charge and show them where they were vulnerable in the area of staff engagement. Every prospect for whom we did the assessment and analysis signed on as a client. All the experiments conducted with existing clients led to a great deal of head nodding, signalling agreement when clients saw the results of their teams.

We feel honoured to have learned so much about staff engagement through our interaction with our clients. We grew and learned with them, and we are indebted to them for this Engagement Model.

The TTLI (Themba Thandeka Leadership Institute) Engagement Model

DIAGRAM 1: TTLI ENGAGEMENT MODEL

Section 1: Leadership

Leadership is the cornerstone of staff engagement. Therefore, the leadership principles and practices must be intentional. This is why the book is titled Lead with Intent. In the context of Engagement, leadership looks different, but yields incredible results. They might seem ambiguous at times, they might even be extremely uncomfortable, but these principles and practices make a massive impact on the engagement of your employees and teams. It takes bravery to go against the grain and practise Intentional Leadership. Intentional Leadership leans heavily on Servant Leadership theory, which in itself seems like an oxymoron to many managers in the corporate environment. In a world where there is deep disappointment in our political, faith and corporate leaders, Servant Leadership is making a strong comeback after having been forgotten for some decades. This signals a yearning for leaders who lead with intent.

Here are the principles and practices of Intentional Leadership, and their impact on the culture of a business:

DIAGRAM 2: INTENTIONAL LEADERSHIP PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES

Section 2: Culture

The late, great management guru Peter Drucker once stated that culture eats strategy for breakfast. This does not mean that strategy is unimportant. But what Drucker was alluding to was that one of the most powerful forces in an organisation is a culture that empowers people and realises their potential and genius. This will obviously lead to engagement. It is for this reason that culture forms part of the foundation of the TTLI Engagement Model. The culture of an organisation will be hugely affected by the abovementioned leadership principles and practices. These principles and practices create a more open, empowering and humane culture that allows people to bring their genius to bear.

Aside from the leadership practices and principles, there are a few things that are important when we talk about culture:

•Management style – an empowering culture can be created only when managers stop directing their teams and start coaching them instead. We have assisted many organisations in changing the dominant management style from directive to coaching management.

•Meetings – we have noticed that meetings have the potential to either drain or create energy in the work environment. Questions need to be asked about meetings. Which meetings do we have? Who leads them? Who attends them? What is the agenda for the meetings? We have found that laborious, nonsensical meetings happen too often. It is a comfort zone for many managers. This, however, drains the energy of the employees, and the culture becomes energy-draining.

•Stories – what happens in the meetings after the meeting? Which stories are being told? What is focused on? Who are the heroes? It is important to pay attention to this. These stories will foster the culture in your organisation. The stories that are told should be those of trust, truth, encouragement, and collaboration. Great cultures are built on great stories.

•Frontline obsession – when employees need to keep their bosses happy instead of customers, it leads to a terrible culture. When employees worry more about keeping their bosses happy, the customer loses out, employee spirit is destroyed and you have an awful culture at work. We realised that the best work cultures have a frontline obsession, which means that those who interact with customers have the autonomy to keep the customers happy. Our favourite example of this is Horst Schutze, who was the CEO of the Ritz Carlton. He gave all employees in the hotel group a $2 000 budget to keep customers happy every time they had a bad experience at the hotel. Now this is a lot of money, but the employees used their discretion, because they were empowered to keep their customers happy. Whether it was a free breakfast, flowers to the room