We See It on the Wall
I must admit that I love a great quote. A great quote is a great sound bite. If you can come up with a good sound bite, you can make an important point with those you are communicating with. If you have a great sound bite, your message will be remembered . . . and your chances of getting through to those you are communicating with increases dramatically.
A few years ago I was having one of my Performance Excellence meetings with a group of Front-Line Cast Members at Walt Disney World, and one of those great quotes came forth.
We were talking about how important our Four Guest Expectations, our Four Cast Expectations, our Vision Statement, our Purpose and Role, and our Guest Experience Cycle are for reminding us all of what we, as individuals, have to do to create a memorable vacation for our Guests.
While most of the attendees were positive about the leadership in their area even though they all had suggestions on how we, as Leaders, could be more inclusive and more effective, one Cast Member said, “In our area, we see it on the wall, but they don’t do it.”
What she was saying was that we see all of these posters on the wall, but our Leaders don’t always walk the talk.
There is a big difference between what we say and what we do . . . and this is an excellent reminder to all of us that they are always watching everything we do . . . and everything that we say . . . and judging us.
Being a good manager is one thing, being a great Leader is a far different thing.
It is never too late to become better in anything. It is never too late to be a better Leader . . . it is never too late to improve your health . . . it is never too late to do almost anything in life if you will just own it and get to work using all of the wonderful resources we have at Disney, including Training and other resources that can move you from good to great.
Your fellow Cast Members deserve to “see it on the wall” and see it in action from their Leaders. Remember that they are always watching.
Even Cast Members who you might evaluate as not great should be receiving great leadership from you. Some Cast Members have a negative attitude no doubt. Sometimes we ignore these Cast Members because they seem to be uninterested and difficult. Make sure that you don’t mix up their attitude and their performance.
Sometimes Cast Members complain a lot about their schedule and many other things, but they perform their Role in the Show very well.
Perhaps if you start to pay attention to them and compliment them for their excellent performance that they eventually will show an improved attitude and become more positive.
Ignoring them will only make their attitude worse. Positive reinforcement, with large doses of recognition and appreciation, might be just what they need to turn their attitude around. Something probably happened in their lives that caused them to have a negative attitude, and you might be just the Leader to turn it around. Building up a person’s self-esteem and self-confidence are usually the answers to many problems with people. Try it so we “see it on the wall” and feel it in our hearts and minds.
Remember, “Everyone has a problem you don’t know about.”
We only have a limited time on this earth to make a difference—so get busy today! . . . Lee