Would You Rather Serve or Shine?

We encounter two types of CEOs in our work: Golden Boys (or Girls), and Servant Leaders. 

The Golden ones are typically a little too fabulous for their own good: too fabulous to coach staff, or court talent, or do their own homework. In short, they’re too busy to lead.  While they’re busy promoting their own brand, someone else is actually leading their organization.

We’ve also had the privilege of working with CEOs who are humble: they’re eager to roll up their sleeves, listen, engage, and position others to shine.  These are Servant Leaders.  They see themselves as facilitators of others’ success, and know their organizations won’t succeed without the people around them.

Of course, no one is born a CEO; these approaches to leadership develop over time. That means you have choices about the kind of leader you are, and who you want to become, at whatever level you are in your organization.

Here are three ways to build your Servant Leadership muscle:

•    Connect – Get to know people, both on and outside your team.  Learn what matters to them, and share what’s important to you.  These personal connections spark loyalty and motivation. 

•    Trust – Robert Greenleaf, who coined the term Servant Leader, identifies high-trust cultures as ones that empower people to be fast, innovative and collaborative.  To achieve this nimbleness, you can cut down on control, internal horse-racing and politics; your organization will be poised to succeed. 

•    Co-create – “No man is an island”; the same can be said for vision, strategy and process.  Create these with your team, and your team will give everything they’ve got to achieve success. 

The bottom line? Servant leaders are more authentic and more fun to work with than the Golden ones. 

Which kind of leader do you want to become: Golden or Servant?

Appreciate Some Appreciation

“I don’t want to say thank you to people for doing their job.”

This came from a brave manager who raised her hand in front of 120 of her peers during a session I was leading on appreciation. 

Of course you don’t want to say, “Thank you for coming in on time today,” or “Thanks for writing up that report and emailing it to me!” 

Showing appreciation isn’t just saying thank you.  It’s not a generic “good job.”

Appreciation is a specific acknowledgement of something you observe about a team member or colleague.  It can be about something they’ve done or even the values they demonstrate at work. 

Research has actually proven that giving appreciation not only makes someone else’s day, but boosts your mood too.  Who couldn’t use some of that?  

 “I noticed how you offered to cover for Ben last night.  That showed your willingness to jump in and help out.  Thanks.”

“You went above and beyond in that presentation.  Your delivery was warm, concise and hit the mark.  Well done.”

Appreciation can be given in person or electronically.  The delivery method isn’t as important as the fact that you say something specific and genuine.

As hardworking leaders and managers, share an example of appreciation someone has given YOU that made a big impact?   And - how do you like to give appreciation?  We know you’ve got some tips.  We’d love to hear.

Why You Gotta Be So Rude?

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We work with lots of leaders and teams to improve their performance, through better communication, improved decision-making, and leveraged strengths.  We have a number of tools to address these challenges - and they work - but at the end of the day, it's all in the way clients carry them out: HOW client organizations communicate, or make decisions or acknowledge strengths - their attitude - makes all the difference.

Recent studies have shown that over 60% of employees experience incivility at work, and 40% are looking for other employment as a result.  Pause for a moment to look around the room you're in right now: most of the people you see have been on the wrong end of a bad attitude at work, and almost half are job hunting because of it.  Imagine what that's doing to the productivity of your organization. 

To move your teams from conflict to collaboration, they have to be grounded in their larger purpose:

• WHO are we here to help?

• WHAT are we trying to achieve?

• And, most importantly, HOW am I showing up?

These are the anchors of civility and collaboration at work.  And they'll even renew your passion for what you do.

So, what's the prevailing attitude where you work?

Steve Salee, Partner, Wildfire Strategies