❝ “If the results - product, sales, quarterly goals, are the output of the company, the input is the cuture"

Stewards are institutional leaders. They act as responsible caretakers for organizations, large and small, which seek to improve and expand. For stewards, the pressures of short-term performance, financial or otherwise, threaten to compromise long-term goals, and the challenge for institutional stewards is to navigate these external pressures. Faced with competing responsibilities, stewards must remain committed to their organization’s long-term mission through short-term strategies that stay faithful to the organization’s core values.

It is our belief that stewards should focus their energy on constructing an internal environment that empowers others and aligns with the ethics of employees, ultimately providing a durable framework for decision-making. This internal environment is an organization’s “culture,” which is governed by a set of standards that outlines both the institutional mission and acceptable means by which to realize that mission. Despite the diversity of the types of organizations around the world, we believe that there are certain qualities of stewardship, in particular, long-term foresight, effective listening, humility, and trust that are universally applicable. These qualities are invaluable when building a rich organizational culture.

True stewards are often lost to history, but the accomplishments they create through institutional cohesion are endless. For example, history will remember that Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, but not many people know the name George Mueller. With President Kennedy’s promise to send a man to the moon, Mueller was put in charge of NASA to win the space race. Through selfless service and a commitment to excellence, Mueller focused his efforts on enhancing the internal workings of NASA. Importantly, Mueller drafted a set of organizational values that represented a consensus among employees. He saw himself as a servant, participating intimately in different departments and acting as an intermediary that integrated and reconciled varying perspectives. In short, Mueller fostered trust within all levels of his organization and prioritized the organizational mission above his individual goals and needs. In doing so, he left a legacy of collective buy-in to a common goal.

George Mueller operated in an environment in which the values he introduced represented a broad national consensus. Americans wanted to win the space race, and therefore the leadership challenges he faced were structural in nature. But we also wish to consider an example in which society itself has contradictory values, where an institutional leader must reconcile challenges relating to that organization’s purpose. For instance, employees may have drastically different backgrounds or governments might have varying standards. For example, in many parts of the world, child labor and harsh working conditions are unfortunate consequences of modernization, which often go against the expressed ethical values of organizations that work in these contexts. International organizations are often pressured to neglect these incongruities, in order to prioritize financial considerations. However, institutions that have strong organizational culture are uniquely equipped to handle these pressures, retaining ethical values and a sound mission. A steward that clearly identifies and embodies a set of defined values encourages and empowers his/her employees to act in accordance with the organizational culture. This culture creates a firm setting in which responsible decisions can be made that benefit the organization without compromising moral standards. Within this framework the steward must be both courageous and accountable.

Our formula for stewardship is based upon two components: structure and purpose. Through the creation of a robust internal culture, a steward can ensure the organization is both structurally competent and purposefully strong. Institutional leadership is time-delineated; a successful steward can leave his or her post at any time knowing that the mission remains intact.. As such, a steward’s legacy is not personal, but collective. The steward creates a system of enduring values, and then empowers others to perpetuate them.

Finally, we believe that by creating a culture of stewardship, a successful organizational leader can empower everyone in an organization to be both a leader and a steward, regardless of their position in an organizational hierarchy. Thus, leadership through stewardship should be a fundamental aspect of not just successful organizations, but of our shared culture as citizens of this 21st century global society.