![]() If Keller had been hung up on old-fashioned notions of how to lead, none of this would have happened. Managers pushed through the hard times - iterating toward new processes that facilitated employee-social worker interaction without being too cumbersome, overcoming perceptions that there were two sets of standards, refusing to bow to employee threats to leave, and eventually letting go some employees whose attitude got in the way of their performance - because they believed in what they were trying to do and in Fred Keller. With those supports in place and a never-give-up, continuous learning culture infused from the top, the program slowly found solid footing. And he stepped further outside the box and convinced the state of Michigan to - for the first time - place a public social worker onsite at a for-profit business. He continued to be a cheerleader, encouraging managers to embrace the broader purpose they were serving. ![]() He, and then everyone in a managerial position at Cascade, underwent focused training on intergenerational poverty. Leaders of other businesses thought it proved Keller was naive to think companies could address this type of social problem.Īmidst this internal and external criticism, Keller persevered. Cascade’s managers still didn’t really understand what it took to help this type of employee, and were frustrated with the additional effort “Fred’s program” took. ![]() The second attempt - which involved a partnership wherein potential Cascade employees first learned basic job skills and accountability at a local Burger King - failed, too. For him, the initial outcome was simply data - the first attempt hadn’t worked, so clearly there were things to learn before taking another step. It seemed to confirm the common sentiment that helping people get out of intergenerational poverty isn’t a role business can or should try to play. “We didn’t know what we didn’t know,” recalls one of the managers involved, so they resorted to “tough love” that just didn’t work.įor most leaders, this inauspicious beginning would likely have also been the end. Not one of the people hired remained after a few weeks: the men they hired weren’t prepared or equipped for the requirements of regular work, and Cascade wasn’t prepared to help them succeed. They rented a van, went to a low-income area of Grand Rapids, Michigan and - with the eight men they identified - started Cascade’s welfare-to-career program. So he accepted an employee’s suggestion that they hire unemployed locals. ![]() They change outdated systems that exclude diverse perspectives.įred Keller, the founder of Cascade Engineering, wanted to show that a for-profit business could also help address society’s social ills. They reward rather than punish those who try new things, even when they don’t go well. And because there are always going to be differences of opinion and limited resources, they’re willing to engage in difficult conversations and tactfully deliver bad news even if the news may hurt the other person.įinally, courageous leaders surround themselves with, and promote, people who help them learn by challenging rather than flattering them. ![]() Instead, admit when you don’t know things and apologize if you do the wrong thing.Ĭourageous leaders also know that their job is about doing important work on behalf of others. Pretending to be fearless no matter how good the reasons to be afraid, or acting like a know-it-all no matter how obvious it is that neither you nor anyone else has all the answers, isn’t impressive. And so it’s time to re-think our view of courage for our modern context. Most views of leadership are sub-optimal for the organizations where most types of work get done today. ![]()
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