Leadership Lessons from a Legend!
Being a leader gives you the opportunity to make a difference in people’s lives. Not only is their livelihood tied up there, but their own sense of self-worth and knowledge. So you want people to be fully engaged and excited about working for you.
As a leader, you’re there to serve – not to be served.
Leadership expert Ken Blanchard shares these key insights into servant leadership:
Your #1 Customer – Your People!
Great leaders realize their number one customer is their people. If they take care of their people, train their people, love and honor their people, then their people are going to go out of their way to take care of them.
Your #2 Customer – Your Raving Customers
The number two customer would be the people who use your products and services. They’re going to become raving fans of your organization and be part of your sales force. For many people, profit is their reason for being in business – but profit is the applause you get for creating a motivating environment for your people so they’ll take care of your customers.
Common Pitfalls When Promoting Leaders to Grow Their Teams
- Many companies think the best managers are going to be people who are the best at doing their job. Being a great doer doesn’t necessarily give you the skills to be a great manager of people. Very often, organizations find themselves promoting the person who does the job the best into that next role because that’s the criteria used. But that’s not always the best criterion. You want to look at who can bring out the best in other people, not someone who thinks they’re the best.
- Leaders have this feeling that they need to be great at everything. Leaders should just focus on their strengths and play to their strengths. Then get a support team that can play to their weaknesses.
Leadership Values You Need in a Time of Crisis
- Forthrightness – Be honest about what you know and what you don’t know.
- Mastery – Help each other get the best we can possibly be in our particular jobs.
- Kindness – Even when you have to give people bad news, do it in a kind way.
For more information and resources on harnessing your leadership skills, check out The Customer Service Revolution podcast. If you’d like to listen, head over to 019: Leadership Lessons from a Legend!.
