Serving Leaders helps instill values into day-to-day management

Raymond Betler, chief operating officer of Wabtec Corp., faces daily challenges including cost cutting, personnel selection and doing business in international transportation markets he considers to be fraught with corruption.

When he's pressed to make tough decisions, Mr. Betler said he digs deep inside himself and taps core values like honesty and trust to come to solutions. After that kind of soul-searching, the bottom-line typically benefits and company culture realizes more benefits, he said.

As an individual manager, Mr. Betler said he's relied on fundamental and spiritual values for decades, including the years he spent at Bombardier Transportation before he joined Wabtec, a Wilmerding company that makes rail and transit products.

But with the help of an executive training program that puts doing good at the heart of doing business, Mr. Betler said he has been able to spread the idea of values-based management at the places he's worked.

The program is Serving Leaders, an initiative of the nonprofit Pittsburgh Leadership Foundation.

Even before personal scandals brought down high profile executives like Highmark's Kenneth Melani, Yahoo's Scott Thompson and one-time political rising star and former vice presidential nominee John Edwards, Serving Leaders began offering training to help instill values such as truth and compassion into day-to-day business management.

"I know people who work want to serve purposes bigger than the paycheck," said John Stahl-Wert, president and chief executive of Serving Leaders and the Pittsburgh Leadership Foundation, affiliated entities based in Station Square, South Side.

Mr. Stahl-Wert, a former Mennonite pastor, joined the Pittsburgh Leadership Foundation in 1994 when it was primarily launching and managing small nonprofits with a decidedly Christian faith component. Among the organizations it helped to create or support: Amachi Pittsburgh, which mentors children of prisoners; Saltworks Theatre Co., a professional arts group that addresses spiritual and social issues in its performances; and East Liberty Family Health Care, a faith-based healing ministry.

When he became president in 2000, Mr. Stahl-Wert oversaw the foundation's plan to spin out the various organizations and let them sustain themselves with their own boards and leadership.

During the process of "emancipating" its own portfolio of nonprofits, the foundation convened a monthly breakfast meeting for 50 to 60 local business leaders with the idea of providing them with leadership training that would focus on faith-based values.

"My board wanted to know what I would do with 50 business leaders to create care for hurting people," recalled Mr. Stahl-Wert. "I chose not to bring nonprofit leaders into the room but rather wanted to show business leaders how they can do good in the workplace.

"Some business leaders struggle with the feeling, 'It's just business and other people do things that matter.' But business is the place we spend the most hours and where our families are provided for."

In 2007, the foundation launched the Leaders Collaborative in which approximately 12 business executives from various sectors come together one day a month to work on leadership challenges. Among the participants in the pilot was John Henne, president of Henne Jewelers.

Concerned about the increasing number of divorces among people he knew, Mr. Henne came up with a promotion for couples who shop for engagement or wedding rings at his Shadyside store. They receive gift packets containing special offers for relationship counseling and quizzes to delve deeper into the significance of their partnership.

Mr. Betler, also a member of the pilot class, said he often wrestled with tough decisions at Bombardier because he was only 38 when he ran that company's transit systems group in West Mifflin.

"I was one of the youngest chief executives in Bombardier's history and when I took over, we basically had a very successful business with some bad culture. It was heavily focused on officer and executive privilege ... things like an executive parking lot that I basically eliminated."

When he completed the Leaders Collaborative pilot, Mr. Betler, now 56, introduced the concept of values-based leadership to his executive team at Bombardier.

"We became a very values-oriented company with a very positive culture. It was based on an attitude and value system that started at the top," he said.

Serving Leaders is currently consulting with a Wabtec division in South Carolina, said Mr. Betler who sits on Serving Leaders' board of directors.

Leadership training focused on spiritual values and ethics has been around for years but really boomed in the last decade since corporate scandals -- most notably the one that destroyed Enron -- made shareholders and employees more cognizant of bad behavior in the executive suite.

"Increasingly what's happening with so many financial crises -- now we've just heard about the [$2 billion trading loss] at J.P. Morgan Chase -- is really shaking people up and they want to see how to get rid of corruption and dishonesty in the corporations we work for, we buy from and we invest in," said Corinne McLaughlin, director of the Center for Visionary Leadership in San Rafael, Calif.

Though it can be a challenge to instill spiritual values in large companies that have conducted business the same way for decades, less traditional businesses -- especially in the technology sector -- are eager to embrace a change in how they lead, she said.

Consider Google's "Search Inside Yourself" course as the kind of training that edgy, Silicon Valley companies offer to help the workforce reflect on personal goals and values. The Google class, free for employees, uses meditation to help workers develop self awareness.

"It is a trend and there seems to be a growing interest in spirituality at work," said Jim Ulrich, associate professor and team leader of the leadership faculty at Duquesne University's School of Leadership and Professional Advancement.

Years ago, he worked for ServiceMaster, the Memphis, Tenn.-based parent firm of the Merry Maids, Terminix and Tru-Green lawn service brands. In its mission statement, the company includes values such as honesty, empathy and building meaningful relationships.

"Putting it out there explicitly is one of the ways they communicate," said Mr. Ulrich. "They take a stand and I think it's good for business leaders to take a stand."

Among the factors boosting values-based leadership programs, he said, is the corporate world's recent focus on sustainability -- the concept of considering the environment and social welfare as well as profits.

"Some business leaders may be wondering if [spiritual development] is something that could increase their profitability or give them a little edge over the competition," said Mr. Ulrich. "Some may think of it like magic: Maybe I can buy a little of that, sprinkle it on and it might push the share price up a penny."

Good values-based leadership isn't restricted to faith-based training programs, said Peter Handal, chief executive of Dale Carnegie Training, a Hauppauge, N.Y.-based firm that consults with clients worldwide on management skills.

"When we think about values, we often think about religion, but leading with positive values really means leading with strong ethics, honesty, inspiration and motivation."

When questions surfaced recently about educational credentials on the resume of Yahoo's former CEO Scott Thompson, he should have admitted quickly the discrepancy in degrees he earned and perhaps avoided a forced resignation, said Mr. Handal. He called it one of many cases when "a CEO's downfall was tied to ignoring values."

Besides its executive and company-wide consulting programs, Serving Leaders coordinates an annual prayer breakfast for civic and business leaders in the Pittsburgh region. This year's event in March attracted 450 people who heard keynote speaker Kim Tillotson Fleming, chairman and chief executive of investment firm Hefren-Tillotson, talk about gratitude and forgiveness.

An April conference it co-sponsored with Geneva College featured the top executives of Chick-fil-A, a Georgia-based restaurant chain that openly promotes its religious values, which include closing for business on Sundays.

Combined revenues for Serving Leaders and the Pittsburgh Leadership Foundation for the fiscal year ended June 2010 were $1.54 million, according to a 990 form filed with the Internal Revenue Service.

Asked why some executives believe it's acceptable to stray from ethics and engage in risky behavior that may compromise the whole organization, Mr. Stahl-Wert declined to discuss scandals at specific businesses.

"I would say to any company, 'If you want extraordinary performance from all men and women, and not just a perfect checklist of what you tell them to do, you need to be trustworthy. Mean what you say and live what you preach. Trust is very important at the helm."

While Serving Leaders differentiates its brand by being rooted in faith, Mr. Betler believes it appeals to a wide range of executives and companies that want a secular approach to leadership.

Patrick Colletti, president of Net Health Systems, admits he "begrudgingly joined" the Leaders Collaborative pilot class because he was hesitant to commit time to programs that take him away from management responsibilities at the Strip District company that develops health care software.

But the experience proved to be "transformative," he said, because Net Health was at a critical juncture in its growth and he learned how identifying his own personal missions and values could help him guide his company's expansion.

"The question of why we are here and doing business exists whether it's phrased in a theological or secular perspective," said Mr. Colletti, who joined Serving Leaders' board last year.

Said Mr. Betler, "It certainly doesn't have to be a biblical implementation process in terms of how you articulate it. It comes down to fundamental values associated with core beliefs. They can approach people without talking about Christianity or Jesus in a very non-threatening way with people who don't share those beliefs."

Joyce Gannon: jgannon@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1580.

Raymond Betler, chief operating officer of Wabtec Corp., faces daily challenges including cost cutting, personnel selection and doing business in international transportation markets he considers to be fraught with corruption.

When he's pressed to make tough decisions, Mr. Betler said he digs deep inside himself and taps core values such as honesty and trust to come to solutions. After that kind of soul-searching, the bottom line typically benefits and company culture realizes more benefits, he said.

As an individual manager, Mr. Betler said he's relied on fundamental and spiritual values for decades, including the years he spent at Bombardier Transportation before he joined Wabtec, a Wilmerding company that makes rail and transit products.

But with the help of an executive training program that puts doing good at the heart of doing business, Mr. Betler said he has been able to spread the idea of values-based management at the places he's worked.

The program is Serving Leaders, an initiative of the nonprofit Pittsburgh Leadership Foundation.

Even before personal scandals brought down high-profile executives such as Highmark's Kenneth Melani, Yahoo's Scott Thompson and one-time political rising star and former vice presidential nominee John Edwards, Serving Leaders began offering training to help instill values such as truth and compassion into day-to-day business management.

"I know people who work want to serve purposes bigger than the paycheck," said John Stahl-Wert, president and chief executive of Serving Leaders and the Pittsburgh Leadership Foundation, affiliated entities based in Station Square, South Side.

Mr. Stahl-Wert, a former Mennonite pastor, joined the Pittsburgh Leadership Foundation in 1994 when it was primarily launching and managing small nonprofits with a decidedly Christian faith component. Among the organizations it helped to create or support: Amachi Pittsburgh, which mentors children of prisoners; Saltworks Theatre Co., a professional arts group that addresses spiritual and social issues in its performances; and East Liberty Family Health Care, a faith-based healing ministry.

When he became president in 2000, Mr. Stahl-Wert oversaw the foundation's plan to spin out the various organizations and let them sustain themselves with their own boards and leadership.

During the process of "emancipating" its own portfolio of nonprofits, the foundation convened a monthly breakfast meeting for 50 to 60 local business leaders with the idea of providing them with leadership training that would focus on faith-based values.

"My board wanted to know what I would do with 50 business leaders to create care for hurting people," Mr. Stahl-Wert recalled. "I chose not to bring nonprofit leaders into the room but rather wanted to show business leaders how they can do good in the workplace.

"Some business leaders struggle with the feeling, 'It's just business, and other people do things that matter.' But business is the place we spend the most hours and where our families are provided for."

In 2007, the foundation launched the Leaders Collaborative in which approximately 12 business executives from various sectors come together one day a month to work on leadership challenges. Among the participants in the pilot was John Henne, president of Henne Jewelers.

Concerned about the increasing number of divorces among people he knew, Mr. Henne came up with a promotion for couples who shop for engagement or wedding rings at his Shadyside store. They receive gift packets containing special offers for relationship counseling and quizzes to delve deeper into the significance of their partnership.

Mr. Betler, also a member of the pilot class, said he often wrestled with tough decisions at Bombardier because he was only 38 when he ran that company's transit systems group in West Mifflin.

"I was one of the youngest chief executives in Bombardier's history, and when I took over we basically had a very successful business with some bad culture. It was heavily focused on officer and executive privilege ... things like an executive parking lot that I basically eliminated."

When he completed the Leaders Collaborative pilot, Mr. Betler, now 56, introduced the concept of values-based leadership to his executive team at Bombardier.

"We became a very values-oriented company with a very positive culture. It was based on an attitude and value system that started at the top," he said.

Serving Leaders is currently consulting with a Wabtec division in South Carolina, said Mr. Betler who sits on Serving Leaders' board of directors.

Leadership training focused on spiritual values and ethics has been around for years but really boomed in the last decade since corporate scandals -- most notably the one that destroyed Enron -- made shareholders and employees more cognizant of bad behavior in the executive suite.

"Increasingly what's happening with so many financial crises -- now we've just heard about the [$2 billion trading loss] at JPMorgan Chase -- is really shaking people up, and they want to see how to get rid of corruption and dishonesty in the corporations we work for, we buy from and we invest in," said Corinne McLaughlin, director of the Center for Visionary Leadership in San Rafael, Calif.

Though it can be a challenge to instill spiritual values in large companies that have conducted business the same way for decades, less traditional businesses -- especially in the technology sector -- are eager to embrace a change in how they lead, she said.

Consider Google's "Search Inside Yourself" course as the kind of training that edgy, Silicon Valley companies offer to help the workforce reflect on personal goals and values. The Google class, free for employees, uses meditation to help workers develop self-awareness.

"It is a trend, and there seems to be a growing interest in spirituality at work," said Jim Ulrich, associate professor and team leader of the leadership faculty at Duquesne University's School of Leadership and Professional Advancement.

Years ago, he worked for ServiceMaster, the Memphis, Tenn.-based parent firm of the Merry Maids, Terminix and TruGreen lawn service brands. In its mission statement, the company includes values such as honesty, empathy and building meaningful relationships.

"Putting it out there explicitly is one of the ways they communicate," Mr. Ulrich said. "They take a stand, and I think it's good for business leaders to take a stand."

Among the factors boosting values-based leadership programs, he said, is the corporate world's recent focus on sustainability -- the concept of considering the environment and social welfare as well as profits.

"Some business leaders may be wondering if [spiritual development] is something that could increase their profitability or give them a little edge over the competition," Mr. Ulrich said. "Some may think of it like magic: Maybe I can buy a little of that, sprinkle it on and it might push the share price up a penny."

Good values-based leadership isn't restricted to faith-based training programs, said Peter Handal, chief executive of Dale Carnegie Training, a Hauppauge, N.Y.-based firm that consults with clients worldwide on management skills.

"When we think about values, we often think about religion, but leading with positive values really means leading with strong ethics, honesty, inspiration and motivation."

When questions surfaced recently about educational credentials on the resume of Yahoo's former CEO Mr. Thompson, he should have admitted quickly the discrepancy in degrees he earned and perhaps avoided a forced resignation, said Mr. Handal. He called it one of many cases when "a CEO's downfall was tied to ignoring values."

Besides its executive and companywide consulting programs, Serving Leaders coordinates an annual prayer breakfast for civic and business leaders in the Pittsburgh region. This year's event in March attracted 450 people who heard keynote speaker Kim Tillotson Fleming, chairman and chief executive of investment firm Hefren-Tillotson, talk about gratitude and forgiveness.

An April conference it co-sponsored with Geneva College featured the top executives of Chick-fil-A, a Georgia-based restaurant chain that openly promotes its religious values, which include closing for business on Sundays.

Combined revenues for Serving Leaders and the Pittsburgh Leadership Foundation for the fiscal year ended June 2010 were $1.54 million, according to a 990 form filed with the Internal Revenue Service.

Asked why some executives believe it's acceptable to stray from ethics and engage in risky behavior that may compromise the whole organization, Mr. Stahl-Wert declined to discuss scandals at specific businesses.

"I would say to any company, 'If you want extraordinary performance from all men and women, and not just a perfect checklist of what you tell them to do, you need to be trustworthy. Mean what you say, and live what you preach. Trust is very important at the helm."

While Serving Leaders differentiates its brand by being rooted in faith, Mr. Betler believes it appeals to a wide range of executives and companies that want a secular approach to leadership.

Patrick Colletti, president of Net Health Systems, admits he "begrudgingly joined" the Leaders Collaborative pilot class because he was hesitant to commit time to programs that take him away from management responsibilities at the Strip District company that develops health care software.

But the experience proved to be "transformative," he said, because Net Health was at a critical juncture in its growth and he learned how identifying his own personal missions and values could help him guide his company's expansion.

"The question of why we are here and doing business exists whether it's phrased in a theological or secular perspective," said Mr. Colletti, who joined Serving Leaders' board last year.

Mr. Betler said, "It certainly doesn't have to be a biblical implementation process in terms of how you articulate it. It comes down to fundamental values associated with core beliefs. They can approach people without talking about Christianity or Jesus in a very nonthreatening way with people who don't share those beliefs."