From the President

Chris Cook, President, MEA

Serving others is a great step toward becoming an effective leader.

Lead: It’s a simple word with very complex traits. It’s an action word that requires you to be much more than just the boss or owner of your business. To become a successful leader, you must first learn to serve in a capacity that allows others to learn and flourish under your care. Serving as a leader does not mean doing the job for them or even with them. It means helping them achieve greatness by serving their desire to be successful in all they do. Let’s identify some techniques that will improve your leadership ability.

Make the Teaching Time Investment

Serving your team does not mean doing everything for them. It means taking the time to help them become successful in all they do. Let’s look at an example of this type of leadership. You have a team member who is struggling to prove themselves in an area that would be helpful to both you and your business if they were able to master it. You could just have someone else do it. You could do it for them and have them watch and learn. Or you could provide the training and tools to help make them successful. If you’re doing this yourself, then work with them to grow their confidence in their area of weakness. By doing this you will create a better team member who should, in turn, become more productive.

Coach to Create the Desired Outcome

We touched on how to serve by working on tasks with your team members. Your goal should be to help them grow, providing a better experience for both you and your customer. It may seem redundant to have two people doing the same task. The premise behind this team effort is to work together and coach the activity. Think of this as helping them achieve their best in an area in which they may be struggling, or at the very least, are less proficient than they could be. What you need to achieve is a working relationship that fosters their best performance. An example might be teaching a process or procedure that requires precision. Your mission would be to walk them through by providing guidance that bolsters their confidence.

Teaching Them to Lead

The intended consequence of your leadership would be to have others follow your example by doing the same. Think of it as creating mentors by mentoring. You may be thinking that not everyone is cut out to lead. Some will never be more than followers. I would have to argue that point. If given the right direction and coaching, you can help develop skills that will allow each and every person to lead in some area of the business. Leading does not necessarily mean that this person is running your business. It simply means you have worked to develop someone’s skills so they can take ownership of a specific area or task. This is their agreed upon area of responsibility. Something they can call their own, knowing that failure and success are theirs to experience.

Next Level Leadership

If you want to take this to the next level, your next step should be to create a formalized approach for mentoring. Do this by creating an environment in which failure is seen as positive by using them as opportunities for growth. Yes, I refer to multiple failures. Expect people to fail. This does not mean they are failures, themselves. It means you should expect mistakes. How you respond will make the difference and help control the outcome in the future.

Think about your own mistakes and use each of theirs as teachable moments. Review what went wrong and ask them for suggestions on what they could do better next time. Also, ask for a solution for correcting the mistake. Don’t just tell them how to fix it. If you do, they will expect the same. Teach them how to fix it on their own, using their solution. If their solution is one you know will not correct the situation, then help them think through what will fix it.

Teaching your team to work through their mistakes, praising their accomplishments and rewarding achievements will make them more successful. It will also have a very positive effect on your business and your customer experience. The greatest leaders are those who serve others while supporting their goals and aspirations. I challenge you to take the next step and lead.