Strategy #26: Preach to the choir – then grow the choir

When I work with organizations on long-term culture-enhancing initiatives based on The Twelve Core Action Values, we train a group of people we call “Spark Plugs.” It’s a wonderful metaphor. Give a spark plug a bit of energy, and it catalyzes that energy into a flash of power; put a handful of spark plugs into a car, and they will power that car down the highway (or up a mountain road). Without spark plugs, the car is dead in the driveway; without spark plug people, an organization is dead in the marketplace. But a handful of “spark plug” people can have a hugely disproportionate impact. That’s why we always start with the most positive people, those you would think are least in need of values training. To mix a metaphor, we start by preaching to the Spark Plug choir, then the Spark Plugs themselves help us grow that choir.

Do you know who the spark plugs are in your organization? They are often well-hidden (we’ve had some wonderful surprises in seeing people previously unsuspected of having leadership potential blossom as Spark Plugs). What can you do to bring those folks together as more of a group (the choir)?  How can you give them a voice within your organization, help them feel a sense of ownership and empowerment for their activities, and share with them tools to help them grow that choir?

The Spark Plug group at West Central engages in public service ventures, and its members contribute to a weekly column on values for the employee newsletter. The Spark Plug group at Central Peninsula General Hospital started a “secret buddy” campaign to spread the Spark, and created a beautiful calendar with each month devoted to one of The Twelve Core Action Values. The Spark Plugs at Page Hospital launched an organization-wide Pickle Challenge.

When we conduct Spark Plug training on The Twelve Core Action Values, participating Spark Plugs are self-selected; they must apply to be accepted into the course, and agree to the terms of the Spark Plug “job description.”  What can you do to identify and encourage the hidden “spark plugs” in your organization, and to bring them together so that they are all singing in harmony? (If you would like to see a typical Spark Plug job description and application form, send me an email – joe@joetye.com – and I’ll send them right out.)

“One of the most sacred relationships among teams of people is that between leaders and followers. This relationship, so central and crucial, depends to an extraordinary degree on the clearly expressed and consistently demonstrated values of the leader as seen through the special lens of followers. That is why leadership and ethics are inextricably woven together.”

Max DePree: Leadership Jazz

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