Conversations with Kellogg March 10, 2010, 2:16PM EST

President Obama, Father-in-Chief?

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Thomas D. Kuczmarski

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How often do you find that people have double standards? You say to your team: "Of course you should leave early and spend time with your family, but I'm going to stay here and miss my time with my family?"

Whatever the leader is doing or saying is in effect the culture for the whole organization. President Obama better be ensuring that the people who report to him can do the same thing.

Any other thoughts about leading by example or setting or establishing boundaries?

Far too many people, leaders, don't have the foggiest idea what values mean or how you set them in the culture of the organization. If the leader doesn't know what the beliefs and values of his people are on an individual basis, there's no way he or she can respect their values.

How do I find out what their values are? And how do I let them know what the values of the organization are?

CEOs often think, wrongfully, that they will come in and define the values of the organization and tell people what they are and to go forth and live them. The values of an organization come from the bottom up rather than from the top down. An effective leader should find out what the values and beliefs of the organization are and do what is needed to help shape them in a way that enables the organization to succeed and its people to prosper.

You talked about bottom-up leadership. You also have top-down with leading by example. How do you reconcile the two?

The leader should not be the one saying, "here are the organization's values." Lots of times an organization's values are different from the leader's. Top-down and bottom-up come together when you find common values. Ultimately, if that is not possible, the leader will probably need to find another place to work.

Thomas D. Kuczmarski teaches leadership and innovation in the executive education programs at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management. He has written two books on leadership, including his most recent, Apples Are Square: Thinking Differently about Leadership (Kaplan), which he co-authored with his wife, Susan; and three books on innovation. He is the president and founder of the innovation firm Kuczmarski & Associates. He is also founder of the Chicago Innovation Awards, the major annual recognition of product and service innovation in the Chicago region.For more information about the Kellogg School of Management, including its MBA and its executive education programs, visit www.kellogg.northwestern.edu.

The Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University is widely recognized as a global leader in management education. A regular feature of the BusinessWeek Online Management Channel is Conversations with Kellogg in which Management Channel Editor Patricia O'Connell talks with a Kellogg School faculty member about the management challenges that lie behind the breaking business news stories of the day. Kellogg's faculty members are known for their research, teaching, and practical connections to the world of business and management through the school's MBA and executive education programs.