Good day everyone
I just left the Magic Kingdom where I was interviewed by the Church on the Move from Tulsa, Oklahoma. ( www.churchonthemove.com. I am the keynote speaker for their conference on March 8, 2012 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Since I am from Oklahoma I am pretty sure the viewers of my interview will be able to understand my Oklahoma accent. The article below is one you have heard me talk about so many times on my blog and in my book Creating Magic. In fact the first strategy in my book is titled, Remember, Everyone is Important. Get that one right and the rest of your life will work out just fine. This is a simple one but not practiced well by so many people. Don’t you be one of those people. Show respect to everyone including the homeless person on the street. Everyone has a problem you don’t know about. Don’t make it worse for them. You need to be the light when you come into contact with people and not bring more doom and gloom to their lives. If you have not had a tragedy in your life, don’t worry, that train has left the station and will visit you when you least expect it. You will be glad if you have an organization, family and friends who will help you through it. For now make sure you are serving and helping others. That is how you leave a legacy.
Have a good week making a difference in someone’s life….Lee
I’m fortunate to have met and become friends
with many excellent communicators. Jon Gordon is an example. Like me, Jon writes short books.
He and I both know that in this time compressed age, people don’t always have
time to read long tomes. Jon’s latest book, among many (his titles take up most
of a shelf at many Barnes & Nobles) is The Seed. In fictionalized story,
Jon relates principles that can help each of us find purpose and meaning in
what we do. I asked Jon to share the following guest blog that you can use to
be a positive leader:
In a world filled with busyness and stress I
find that too often leaders can act like hard-charging, fast-driving bus
drivers that have a vision and goal within their sights and they’ll run over
anyone – even their own employees – to reach their destination. I know this
well because early in my business career I was that kind of leader and I have
had to work hard to change my approach.
I realized that any hard-charging leader can
create success in the short term, but it would take a positive leader with a
people and process-driven approach to build a successful organization for the
long term.
As John Maxwell said, “If you are all alone at
the top, you are not a leader. You are a hiker.”
No one creates success alone. To win in
business, you must win with people. Running over people will only get you so
far. To create true and lasting success you must nurture and invest in your
people. Here are 3 essential ways to do this.
Care about them – The main question every employee in every
organization is asking is, “Do you care about me; can I trust you?” Employees
want to know if you care about them. If you do, they will be more likely to
stay on the bus and work with you. Employees are more engaged at work and will
work at their highest potential when their manager cares about them.
Develop a relationship with them – Author Andy Stanley once said,
“Rules without relationship lead to rebellion.” Far too many managers and
leaders share rules with their people, but they don’t have a relationship with
them. So what happens? The people rebel, and they disengage from their jobs and
the mission of the team. I’ve had many managers approach me and tell me that my
books helped them realize they needed to focus less on rules and invest more in
their work relationships. The result was a dramatic increase in team
performance and productivity. To develop a relationship with your employees,
you need to build trust, listen to them, make time for them, recognize them and
mentor them.
Appreciate them – The main reason why people leave their jobs is because
they don’t feel appreciated. For example, Doug Conant, the CEO of Campbell
Soup, has written more than 16,000 thank-you notes to employees in the past
seven years and created a very positive business in the process. It’s as easy
as saying (or writing) “Thank you.”
It’s a simple truth: When you care about your
employees and the people you work with, they are more likely to stay on the bus
and work harder, with more loyalty and greater positive energy. In turn, they
are more likely to share their positive energy with your customers, thus
enhancing service and the bottom line. The greatest customer-service strategy
has nothing to do with customer service, but it has everything to do with how
you treat your employees. If you model great service, they will provide great
service.
Remember,
leadership is not just about what you do, but what you can
inspire, encourage and empower others to do. Instead of running over the people
in your team/organization, invite them on the bus with you and engage them to
help you create an amazing and successful ride.
This
post is a guest post article from Jon Gordon. Jon is the
bestselling author of multiple books including his latest release, The Seed:
Finding Purpose and Happiness in Life and Work. Click here to learn more and to access several complimentary
resources.