Your Attitude Matters

TAKING THE LEAD

Your Attitude Matters

Scott Humphrey CEO, WFCA

… let me say it once again, “The past is a great place to learn, but a terrible place to live.” I am so thankful for the opportunity we have each day to improve on the past by improving our attitude.

As the 1965 hit song says, “What the world needs now is love sweet love…”. We live in a world filled with hate. Just look around you at the divisions in our country, the anger, the riots, etc. Attitude matters, and if there was ever a need for strong leadership to turn the tide of negativity, it is now. Still, as leaders, sometimes we forget in the hustle and bustle of getting things done, we can be guilty of sending the message that “something” is more important than “somebody.” It can be easy to see interruptions as merely distractions instead of opportunities.

I must admit, this is really a struggle for me. I am a “check off the box” type of person. I want to accomplish the task and move onto the next opportunity. I am often guilty of missing the beauty of the journey because I am locked in on the destination. Sadly, this has become more apparent to me as the last of my children draw closer to leaving the nest. It is a constant reminder that you can’t go back. The good news is, even though you can’t change the past, you can live differently from this point forward. I know I sound like a broken record, but let me say it once again, “The past is a great place to learn, but a terrible place to live.” I am so thankful for the opportunity we have each day to improve on the past by improving our attitude.

Here are a few reasons to focus on your attitude:

Your attitude impacts others

Years ago, my family went to Disney World. I know that Disney is a glorious place of dreams and fantasy, but when you are a Type A personality, it can be a nightmare. The endless flow of lines can be torture to those of us who are wired to check off the box and accomplish as much as we can in one day. We don’t mean to be this way. It is just the way Type A’s are wired. Knowing this about myself, I determined that for one whole day, I would not be in charge. I would allow my wife, our sitter, and the kids to determine what we would do and when we would do it. In a sense, I sought to eliminate myself from the picture, so my natural tendencies would not put a damper on their special day.

I remember that day like it was yesterday. I kept thinking to myself, “Relax and enjoy. You don’t have to be in charge today.” Amazingly, I was able to keep my cool and enjoy the day….. for one full hour.” Yep, that’s right. We rode the first ride, and I calmly sat back and allowed the family to determine what we would do next. When they asked me, I would gently say, “It doesn’t matter to me — whatever you want to do is fine.” In fact, this banter went on for about 30 minutes. But after 30 minutes and still standing in the same place, I was having a hard time holding my Type A back. The next time they asked me what I thought we should do, I responded, “I don’t

know, but I do know that if we had made this decision 30 minutes ago, we would be halfway through our next line.” I will never forget what our sitter said next. She looked me directly in the eyes and said, “You’ve been leaving since you got here,” and she was right! I wasn’t saying anything, but my body language was communicating that I was a prisoner at Disney. My attitude was ruining this special time. My sitter’s words were exactly what I needed. I gave up worrying about the end of the day and began to enjoy the moments that made it special.

Your attitude sets the example for your team

If you treat people with respect, those who look to you are more likely to do the same. Likewise, if you treat others as a distraction, a second-class citizen, or a nuisance, you are setting the acceptable standard for customer service for your team. It is amazing the number of times I have encountered bad customer service only to meet the manager of that employee and see clearly the source of the attitude. Leaders often set the tone for what is allowed. I have seen this first-hand in youth sports. When I see a bad attitude and poor behavior on the court, the first place I look is to their parents. They are usually the ones in the stands yelling at their kids, the refs, the coaches, and anyone else that will listen.

Your attitude today impacts your relationships tomorrow

Finally, it is important to remember that every encounter you have has a potential payback. Years ago, I was the sales recruiter for a large flooring manufacturer. One responsibility of that job was traveling all over the USA and interviewing students to potentially become sales reps for my company. Though I enjoyed meeting each student, it was often apparent in the first 60 seconds that the person I was slated to spend the next 30 minutes with was not a match for our training program. Even so, I greeted each person at the door, offered them something to drink, asked them questions to determine if they were a good fit, answered any questions they had, and thanked them for their time. Now you might ask how a Type A personality who knew in the first 60 seconds that a person wasn’t the right fit would spend the next half hour listening to their responses. Let me give you a couple of reasons: I was taught at an early age to treat others as I would like to be treated; I genuinely enjoyed getting to know people from different walks of life; and most importantly, I realized that every person I spoke with would likely one day be involved in purchasing flooring. I wanted them to leave that interview with such a positive impression of my company that even if they didn’t get the job, they would want to purchase from the company I represented. That is right. I was convinced that my attitude — the way I treated them — could potentially impact their purchase decision one day.

As a leader, I challenge you to be aware of your attitude and how it sets the example for your team, impacts your future, and affects future relationships. I close with this quote from famed leadership writer John Maxwell:

“We cannot choose how many years we will live, but we can choose how much life those years will have. We cannot control the beauty of our face, but we can control the expression on it. We cannot control life’s difficult moments, but we can choose to make life less difficult. We cannot control the negative atmosphere of the world, but we can control the atmosphere of our minds. Too often, we try to choose and control things we cannot. Too seldom we choose to control what we can…our attitude.” ❚

As a leader, I challenge you to be aware of your attitude and how it sets the example for your team, impacts your future, and affects future relationships.

The Floor Covering Education Foundation’s purpose is to recruit new installers, scholarship their trade education, and place these new artisans into floor covering industry careers.