Help Me Feel Good And I Will Be Good

Remember that commitment is a state of mind. Loyalty is what people do. Commitment is how they feel. You can see what people do. You can not see how they feel.

Loyalty (staying with the company) and commitment ( giving your best effort) are two different things. Which one do you want for your organization? Both probably.

As a leader you can’t make your team be committed.  You can’t make them give 150 percent effort to their work.  You can’t know exactly how much they are giving and what they have left to give.  You can’t know what is going on in their mind, but . . .

• You can create the right environment.
• You can ask their opinion.
• You can involve them before you make a decision.
• You can make them feel special.
• You can treat them as an individuals.
• You can show complete respect to them.
• You can make them more knowledgeable and develop them.
• You can show them appreciation.
• You can help clear hurdles and barriers for them so that they can do their best.
• You can work hard at helping get the organization structure right so it works from their point of view and from your customers point of view.
• You can help them by making sure that they are always hiring and promoting great leaders when there is an opening.
• You can help them understand how they can make dramatic leaps in customer service and morale when they take on a new position, so that they and the business will be extremely successful.
• You can help them understand their role and responsibility in implementing effective, structured processes for getting work done.
• You can help them understand how to explore, probe, and know what is going on in their organization and how to act upon what they learn.
• You can help them learn how to actively observe and react to the performance of their direct reports and how to take time for  appreciation, recognition and encouragement which is the free fuel that propels human performance.
• You can assist them in understanding how to expand upon knowledge and how to experience some of the best service available anywhere in the world and how to come back and evaluate their own business.
• You can help them understand how to partner effectively and successfully with staff and other cross-functional partners as well as partners in their personal lives.
• You can help them understand their responsibility to demonstrate a passionate, professional commitment to their job.
• You can make sure that they have opportunities to learn and demonstrate mastery of business fundamentals.
• If YOU do these things, the chances of them being totally committed their jobs are very high.

While You cannot make them be committed, YOU can use your leadership position and authority to do the right things for them—just like they can do the same for their fellow employees. This is leadership.

Every day when you arrive at work, think for a minute about all of the things YOU can do to help people be more committed.  Think about how you can create the best environment possible for your team.

Remember that leadership is not a title or a salary grade.  It is all about responsibility, influence, and having the courage to do the right things and getting them done.

You can help your fellow employees by using your position and authority to make sure that their development and training are one of your primary focuses.  YOU can do lots of things, just as all leaders can, if they just think about this as a their major responsibility.

The one thing that we all have to remember when we are in a leadership position is that we have to do all of these things consistently.  We have to make them habits.  We have to try 10 times harder because there is a natural tendency for all people to be suspect of people in authority.

Your title and position (management) are intimidating unless you work really hard to demonstrate to your team that you are committed to being a great leader for them.  Over time your results will get better in all areas of your organization, and people will remember you, trust you and respect you. Your career will end, your reputation will not!

Remember that people don’t work for companies. They work for people….Lee

PS: In my book titled, “Creating Magic…10 Common Sense Leadership Strategies From a Life at Disney,” these concepts will be explained in great detail. The book will be available everywhere books are sold on October 14, 2008.