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”The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between the leader is a servant.” - Max Dupree
The above motivation quote illustrates the need for a leader to inspire their employees by appreciating them. The following leadership article shares seven leadership secrets to make you a better leader:
Leadership Techniques: Seven Leadership Secrets to Being the Outstanding Leader Everyone Wants to Follow
In this changing, challenging, and competitive workplace we can’t overestimate the importance of good management. Good managers will consistently motivate you to perform at higher levels of productivity. Bad managers will drive you crazy and eventually out of the organization. Managers with poor skills will frequently produce the following results:
The following are seven secrets to being the “perfect” leader everyone want to work for:
Instead of dwelling on limited problems, the perfect leader looks at the big picture. They live the organization’s mission and implement, motivate, and dedicate all their efforts to accomplishing the mission.
During hundreds of team building and leadership workshops, I have asked the following simple question:
What is your organization’s mission statement?
If there are forty participants in the workshop, thirty-seven will look down at their desk, one participant will make a feeble attempt at reciting what he/she “thinks” is the mission statement, one participant will make a pretty good attempt and recite the first one or two sentences of the mission statement, and finally one student will volunteer to run to the office (or car) to grab a copy of the statement to bring back to the workshop. Out of the thousands of workshop participants I have asked this question, only three knew their mission statement word for word. The amazing part of this is that many of these workshop participants have been with their organization 5-10-20+ years and, they still didn’t know their mission statement. So my question is this:
How do you lead your employees to accomplish your organization’s mission if you (as a manager) don’t know what the mission is?
The perfect leaders live, eat, sleep, and shower with their mission statement. They know exactly what the mission is and understand its importance to the team they lead and to the organization. Most importantly, they communicate the mission statement to their employees at meetings, coachings, feedback sessions, and even corrective actions. Their actions are related to accomplishing the goals of the mission statement and can communicate the vision of the organization.
Action Step – Take the mission statement out of the dark corner in the office. Print the mission statement and its vision on the top of your meeting agenda and recite it at the beginning of the meeting. Then talk about how the employees are helping to realize the goals, values, and vision of the mission. (Read more at Perfect Leader)
Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, passed away on September 5th at the age of 56. He had a rare form of pancreatic cancer called pancreatic neuroendocrine cancer. May he rest in peace.
Steve Jobs was a true innovation leader and changed the way we processed information in our lives. Along with that, he changed the way we receive entertainment.
Steve Jobs also inspired us to do better and think about the possibilities. He challenged us to create our future. The following is a video where Steve Job is giving his famous “connect the dots” commencement speech. Enjoy!
“When people are serving, life is no longer meaningless.” – John Gardener
Check Yourself for Outstanding Customer Service
Recently, a business associate, Mike, mentioned that he was doing a show at a local university and stopped by the faculty dining hall to get lunch. He said that, while waiting on line, the service was poor. The line moved slowly, the counterperson was disinterested in what she was doing…and it showed. It was not a pleasant customer service experience.
It was Mike’s turn to order and the counterperson continued to show her disinterest…no eye contact, moving like it pained her, and no enthusiasm in her voice. Then when she finally looked up to give Mike his food, she noticed his nametag with his name and company. She realized that Mike worked for a bank where she just opened an account. Well, she turned into another person. She was excited when telling Mike about her excellent experience at his bank. In an instant she was vibrant, alert, smiling, and alive!
The question is, “Why couldn’t she behave that way whenever she interacts with a customer?” We can ask this question whenever we interact with people in customer service situations. In many situations, the persons serving us act like they are auditioning for the role of a zombie in the movie, “Dawn of the Dead.” Whereas they can use less energy being lively and produce a great experience for everyone involved.
The reason this happens is because the customer service persons do not “check themselves” for outstanding customer service. When you “check yourself” before serving the customer, you prep yourself to give your best for the customer. When you “check yourself,” you are prepared for any customer service situation. When you “check yourself,” you make the situation positive for the customer and yourself.
The following are three ways to “check yourself” to give outstanding customer service:
2. Check your Customer Service Body Language – Make your body language show that you are eager to listen to the customer. This means standing or sitting erectly if communicating face-to-face. Sitting erect in your seat is especially important when communicating over the telephone because the customer can “hear” your apathy over the phone. Check yourself to make sure you are smiling. Check yourself to make sure your body language is showing that you want to listen. This means direct eye contact, arms uncrossed, a slight nod of acknowledgment, and, most importantly, your body facing the customer to show that you are completely “engaged” in the conversation.
3. Check your Customer Service Voice – Make sure your voice is energized and positive. This means that you do not sound monotone and your voice has vocal variety (see my article “Cat in the Hat”). Check your voice to make sure your have a lively pace without cutting off the customers before they finish their thoughts.
By just applying these customer service three techniques, you will produce happy customers, increase customer satisfaction, master customer retention, and make your job as a customer service expert so much easier.
”Nothing stops the person who desires to achieve. Every obstacle is simply a course to develop their achievement muscle. It’s a strengthening of their powers to accomplishment.” - Eric Butterworth
Recently, I was watching a women’s professional tennis match on TV. One of the players, Nadia Petrova, was having a spectacular tennis season, either winning or playing for the championship in several tournaments in recent months.
The TV interviewer interviewed Nadia’s new coach and mentioned that Nadia, who was rated in the top twenty players in past years, was fast becoming one of the top five players in the world. The interviewer asked Nadia’s coach about this, and the coach said, “In the past, Nadia had people around her that concentrated on what she ‘can’t do.’ So Nadia would concentrate on what she couldn’t do, especially in challenging situations on the court, and it would frustrate her. I am concentrating on what she ‘can do,’ and she is a much better, confident player and is mentally much happier.”
So I ask you, do you concentrate on the “can’t dos” or the “can dos?” The following are three secrets to creating a “can do” attitude that produces positive results and more success in your life, business, and career:
Set S-M-A-R-T-E-R (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Timely, Encouraging, Rewarding) goals that create a crystal clear roadmap for your success, and work to achieve these goals everyday.
Joy Fisher-Sykes always says, “Clean your NETS of people who have a “can’t do,” negative attitude, and who don’t support your quest to achieve your goals.” The more junk (negative people) in your NETS, the less room you have for more treasure (positive people). Take a close look at “friends,” family and co-workers and ask, “Do they support me and my “can do” attitude?” If they don’t, remove them from your NET. Keep your NET strong with positive people.
Concentrate on the Positive – Recent research shows that 75-80% of daily communication is negative. This would include negative self-talk, conversations with others, or the media (TV, radio, the internet, etc.).
Take back control of your mind and be responsible for your “can do” attitude. You can start with the following:
Concentrate on self-talk with positive solutions
Start your mornings with meditation. Concentrate on positive thoughts with positive results. Visualize, involving as many senses as possible, to intensify the visualization and make it real for you. Ask, “What does your success feel, look, sound, and taste like?” Be aware of negative self-talk, and replace it with positive self-talk.
If the media is negative, tune it out or turn it off.
You can always walk away. You have that right.
Follow these “can do” techniques and you will also achieve more success in your life. I know Nadia does. As of this writing, she has won two additional tournaments, with no end in sight. She has a “can do” attitude that creates success, and you can, too. (For additional can-do attitude resources, go to Can-Do Attitude).
The Sykes Group’s OnPoint News Feed
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