International Multifoods
Values are the foundation of all great leaders.
Gary Costley of Multifoods believes in values-based leadership. “I am convinced that people will follow a leader they trust, and trust is built by actions, not words,” he says. “To be successful, chief executive officers need to lead by example and model the behaviors and attitudes they expect of their employees.
“Values are the foundation of all great leaders. People will not follow-someone who they don’t view as credible and who hasn’t earned their respect. I try very hard to communicate what the values of the organization are, and then live those values as a role model for the organization. People respect that and, as a result, are more likely to go the extra mile to get the results.
“At Multifoods, we found ourselves in a unique situation in November-2001, having just acquired the Pillsbury Desserts and Specialty Products business, which served as the basis for strategically refocusing the company on branded foods. We had a new leadership team that included people from a variety of consumer packaged-foods companies. One of the first steps we took as a new leadership group was to agree on the values we would adhere to—and model—for our employees. We built our ‘brand’ new company’s foundation on personal integrity and high ethical standards, a focus on partnership and teamwork, a passion to win, and the drive to deliver outstanding performance. In the past several years, we have worked hard to ensure that our actions as a leadership team are consistent with these values.
“Before joining Multifoods, I served for two years as dean of the Babcock Graduate School of Management at Wake Forest University. In this role, I led the faculty and staff through a process to define the school’s vision, mission, and values. Through this process, we agreed that our overriding purpose was to be excellent in both teaching and the advancement of business knowledge through leading-edge research. To ensure that we stayed true to the school’s mission and values, we subsequently put in place a reward system grounded in three key principles: teaching, research, and service.
“Despite never having been in a leadership role in academia, the leadership skills that I developed during nearly 25 years at the Kellogg Company seemed to be just as important at Wake Forest. That’s because they are values based.
“Becoming a more effective leader takes work. Leaders are developed, not born. Leadership, like all other interpersonal skills, requires consistent effort. The job of a leader is to get everyone aligned around a shared set of values and pulling in the same direction.
“Those values then become the guideposts for the organization. While that sounds difficult, it isn’t. For example, at Multifoods, we started with some simple, fundamental rules of engagement: tell the truth, treat people with respect, listen, do what you say you are going to do, help other people get things done, and hold ourselves and each other accountable for agreed-upon results.
“I believe that if leaders and organizations start with these types of standards as a base, it is possible to get most people to sign on to the effort. For those who do not agree with the values, they can vote with their feet and leave.
“At the same time, once the organization agrees to a set of values, leaders need to hold people accountable and ensure that everyone in the organization lives those values. For example, if personal integrity and ethical standards are a core value, leaders must not tolerate unethical behavior in the organization.
“Living the values that are agreed on is critical to being a successful leader. Imagine how much more effective organizations would be if their leaders listened, treated people with respect, told the truth no matter how difficult, and held themselves accountable for results. Many of the corporate scandals of the past several years would never have come to pass. Values-based leadership is the right answer for corporate leaders today.”