From nobody, to somebody

As a leader, you have the power to make someone feel important, and make their spirit soar.  It’s not hard.  You just use your positional power – simply; you’re the boss.  Whatever you say or acknowledge is magnified in importance in others eyes.

About two weeks ago I met a new employee. I do not know all my employees names as we have over 700 of them in many locations. Truth be told, we were in the men’s room.  I asked the young man’s name and how long he had been working here.  He had an unusual hard to remember and pronounce Latin name.  I told him I was glad to meet him and glad he was on our team.  We went on our ways after the brief exchange.

A couple weeks later I was walking through the shipping department and saw him working.  He saw me walking through and I called out his name loud and with enthusiasm.  His face lit up instantly.  The other employees around heard me call his name too.  It meant a lot to him.

Cost to me – zero.  Benefit – incalculable.   

Leadership is accomplishing the goals of the organization WHILE bringing out the best in other people; and seeing people smile and become bigger is gratifying and a lot of fun.

The leader is the limitation

In my decades of observation and practice I have come to believe that the leader is the limitation in business – and if he/she can come to understand this and learn how to think, they can become unlimited through other people.

Are you the dispensary for answers?

If you give answers you become the dispensary for answers.  Your people will keep coming back to you when they have questions.  They won’t think for themselves and you will have an unending stream of people at your door, in your email box, and on your phone.

If you answer questions with questions, such as “what would you do?”, “what do you think we should do?”  “why do you think that?”  “What criteria should you apply to decide what to do?”, “I believe you can figure that out.  Did you really need to ask me?”, then you will empower your people to help you operate the business, and get more of their abilities than you are getting now.

Substitution

Got a team of 5 or 7?  

What happens if you trade one player for a different one?

Something go wrong?

A leader must FIRST ask, “How did I cause this?”  

“What part did I play?”

Don't lose your credibility

Good, bad, or ugly, you have to tell the truth.  Even about yourself.

A leader that loses their credibility loses their ability to lead.

If you had to do it all over again…

How would you do it differently?

Sunk cost bias?

Why not do it that way starting now?

Before the camera rolls….

Being very successful may look like a glamorous excitement-filled life.  But the truth is that successful people are grinding out mundane tasks for hours and days and months and years before and after they ever become what most would call successful.

They work after others have gone home and retired to an evening of leisure.  They practice their craft, and get uncomfortable more than the average person.  They read more, study more, make more calls, take more shots, go deeper, ask hard questions, focus more, challenge themselves and don’t settle for just “good”. They are not looking for the easy way. They do things most are unwilling to do.

High performers are not average.  They do what few others will, so they can live lives few others can.

How about you?

Owned by what you own?

Your most precious possessions – do you own them, or do they own you?

Remember, your most precious possession is your time.

A bias for action

“There’s nothing serious to talk about until you’ve tried something – and observed what happened.” – Tom Peters

Get up out of your chair, and try it.