Charity Lumpa
Working together in teams or for your direct manager can sometimes be overwhelming and intimidating. How do I communicate, collaborate, or even ask questions? What is being demonstrated by those leading above me? These are some of the items I discussed with Charity Lumpa, an executive leader with over three decades of senior-level experience in insurance, banking, tourism, and telecommunications throughout Zambia.
When we look at how to transform the culture within the workplace, one of the areas to focus on is what Charity refers to as "Positive Organization Change."
"Positive Organization Change is about engaging with everybody at each and every level of the organization," she said, "to bring in the change that you need." She said that if the tone at the top is wrong and you're only focusing on the next level of leadership, you won't achieve the anticipated change. "You really need to go down to the trenches and be with the people. That's where the change actively begins."
While most employees hardly ever see their organization's CEO, what Charity describes sounds a bit like a dream to most. But she should know. She started her career witnessing the way a leader should have led but took away from her early experiences what really should be happening instead.
"It's all about bringing everybody together, having one common goal and doing it harmoniously," Charity stated. "To do that, you want to pay attention to detail. That's where the excellence comes in."
Charity believes that it boils down to an employee's sense of purpose. If employees do not feel they have a sense of purpose in the workplace, they are unlikely to put forth much effort. They might eventually leave as well based on workplace ineptitude.
This line of thinking transitioned to our next area of discussion; purpose and strategy. Charity believes that not everybody has the clarity needed for purpose and strategy to be fulfilled. "What you need to do is get into the organization, talk with your people, fill their needs on the floor, and understand if your strategy is synchronizing with the objectives and if those objectives are fully aligned with the company," she said.
Charity went on to provide an example. "When you say, 'This is what I want you to do,' it doesn't always work. But when you say, 'I need your help,' people work together. Instead of being the CEO that expects results, be the CEO that wants to help. Go and talk to the employees and say, 'I need your help.'"
Employees often look to their bosses and the company's senior leadership for guidance on where they fit in with the overall strategy. "It's really a question of communication, a question of trust, and ensuring that everybody understands that the bottom line is excellence," relayed Charity. "It's about engagement at every level."
Often leaders forget that from the shop floor to the top floor, there is a requirement for a leadership muscle of reinforcement. Leaders must stop hoping and wishing that trust occurs, collaboration happens, or strategy is understood. To build that trust and clarity, the reinforcement of leadership throughout the organization is required. Lumpa says from her experience, "Going and doing the work with the employees will show them you can do it too, and it will strengthen that bond."
Charity is quite the advocate. She believes it's essential as a leader to show care, compassion and humanity. Lumpa said, "I think it's very important, whether you succeed or fail, they'll always look at it as we were at it together. As the CEO, getting on the employees' levels does not mean that you are weak; it means they will have a better respect for you, and they will have better communication with you."
Charity certainly has a way of speaking the language of leadership. We went on to discuss Empowerment and Agency and their importance to employees. Charity insists that the employee's voice is vital. It's where they can provide feedback or give ideas about a company's products, services, and customers since they frequently deal directly with those items. "This tells people down at the bottom that they are there to make a difference," Lumpa said. "Your job as a CEO is to support them to become better, to thrive, to succeed, because when they succeed, I succeed."
While the discussion had many great talking points, we wrapped it up with something Charity is renowned for cultivating: belongingness. She said, "I find that when a team member fills a vital part of the organization, they bring to the team more than just their knowledge; they bring their heart. Without the heart, it's very difficult to belong."
Watch the interview with Charity Lumpa and Dan Pontefract in full below or listen to it via the Leadership NOW series podcast.
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Check out my award-winning 4th book, “Lead. Care. Win. How to Become a Leader Who Matters.” Thinkers50 #1 rated thinker, Amy. C. Edmondson of Harvard Business School, calls it “an invaluable roadmap.”Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn. Check out my website or some of my other work here.
