Closing the Gap Between Success and Significance
Closing the Gap Between Success and Significance
Think of the person you most admire. This might be a teacher, a
business associate, an inspirational leader, a mentor or friend
who made a significant impact on your life. You remember them
for what they did for you at a time when you needed their
direction.
Contrast this person with the college professor who said, "You
can interpret this story two ways, my way and the wrong way."
In the past, accepted business leadership styles resembled the
college professor's attitude. Using a command style, executives
demanded better, faster, cheaper, more efficient strategies,
pushing employees to higher standards and criticizing rather
than praising.
As a result, the driver leader struggled, employees refused to
make an emotional commitment, the management team did not work
in a unified fashion and the organization suffered.
The changing world
Today's business leaders face a world undergoing change such as
we have never seen before. New technology, international
competition, lightning information availability, and new legal
accountability challenge leaders to make not just directional
but transformational changes to remain competitive.
In this environment, it is difficult for a CEO, President, or
leader to drive an organization to realize its vision and to
deliver sustainable results.
The changing leadership model.
Many leaders forget a basic adage of leadership. Their success
depends on the success of their employees and co-workers. High
level leaders understand that they contribute to this success by
making it easier for their employees to do their jobs, by making
them feel that their jobs have significant value and by treating
them as individuals with valid opinions and suggestions.
Research shows that the organizational climate, the way people
think about working for an organization, has a significant
impact on human performance. The way employees perceive the
leader and his management team drives the organizational climate
and employee performance.
In today's world-class organization, people at every level must
have a personal stake in the vision of the business. The
world-class leader understands that the most important part of
his job is to develop an organization where people want to work
and want to do their best.
Like the person you admire the most, today's effective business
leaders develop significance with their associates. They enjoy
continued long-term professional and personal success. They
leave an indelible impact on their employees, customers and
suppliers because of what they do and continue to do for them.
Becoming a significant leader
Turn this around and ask yourself who sees you as their mentor,
as their inspiration, as memorable in their life. This may be
difficult at first since we seldom see ourselves as making a
significant impact on others.
Ask yourself how many people in your life want to help you? How
many people have you dedicated your time and energy to help this
year? If the answer to both questions is "a handful," you may
lead a comfortable life, but you will not develop significance
in your relationships.
To create significance, you must develop the attitude of the
"Servant's Heart". You must ask how you can help people.
This requires you to shift your focus. You develop a Servant's
Heart by dedicating yourself to the success of those who help
you achieve your success. A self-centered driver has fleeting
success because he builds on too small a foundation.
People walk around with the letters MMFA - Make Me Feel
Appreciated - as a figurative imprint on their foreheads. You,
as a leader with a Servant's Heart, must ask how you can help
these people become more effective and feel more important. You
must make your customers, employees and suppliers understand
that you have their best interests at heart and that your
commitment is unconditional.
All of us aspire to reach our dreams and goals. The leader with
a "Servant's Heart" inspires others who realize that he cares
about them and wants them to succeed at a personal level. When
people realize that they can reach their personal goals through
helping the organization reach its goals, they make impressive
results possible.
Important attitudes that lead to significance Empathy, defined
as the understanding of others, is the fundamental trait that
leads to significance. The three levels of empathy are:
* Being able to read another's emotions * Sensing and responding
to a person's unspoken concerns or feelings. * Understanding the
issues or concerns that lie behind another's feelings.
People with this ability notice emotional cues, listen well,
show sensitivity, and understand others' perspectives.
You, as an empathetic leader, sense others' needs and bolster
their abilities by looking past the obvious. You see the next
step and how to get there. You want to help subordinates and
co-workers build their personal identity and their self-image so
they can become more successful and you want them to realize
that you too are doing the same thing.
You, as the authentic leader with empathy, give advice that
serves the person's best interests. When people understand that
you have a sincere desire that they succeed, they respond with
great enthusiasm. In an organization where people want to be and
do their best, you can obtain great results.
Making personal changes is not easy.
You can use several proven steps to assist you to become an
empathetic leader.
First, you must acknowledge your current attitudes before you
can change them. People with strong self-awareness understand
emotions, strengths, limitations, values and motives at a deep
level. They are honest with themselves and about themselves.
They know the direction they want their life to take and why.
Second, to make personal changes you must practice the new
actions and thoughts you want to develop. In sports, athletes
spend far more time practicing and than performing. Tiger Woods
hits hundreds of practice shots for every tournament shot. In
contrast, we in the business world perform but never practice.
To be more successful we must practice skills and attitudes that
will further our success.
As you practice building empathy and the other skills you need
to become significant in others' lives, you must track your new
skills. Busy lives make it is easy to delay doing uncomfortable
tasks. However, when you hold yourself accountable you will stay
on target and make progress towards your goals.
Finally, use a coach or mentor. At the times when you get
cranky, a trusted friend, colleague or coach can give you an
unbiased perspective. By helping you through rough times, they
help you stay focused on your goal.
A caveat.
To build a business culture where employees have a say in the
direction of the organization, you do not need to give up
leadership. The effective leader understands the importance of
building a culture where accountability is expected.
Some might object that working through others as opposed to
giving firm direction leads to pressure to lower performance
standards, tempting us to make accommodations to personal
interests.
Effective leaders understand the importance of building a
culture that expects accountability. They hold individuals and
the organization accountable every step of the way to reaching
the future they envision.
Effective leaders work with individuals without compromising
performance. Under such leaders, employees understand and accept
the importance of meeting objectives they have helped establish.
They understand that when they help the organization meet its
goals they meet their own goals. This dynamic has a substantial
positive effect on performance by both the organization and the
individual.
Successful leaders insist on involving their employees in the
planning process as a way to build personal commitment. With a
"Servant's Heart," significant leaders have their employees'
best interests at heart and will commit to their personal
development.
Successful leaders insist on a continuous process of planning
and development, of accountability and results, and build the
culture of the organization around these cornerstones.
Significance is a timeless concept.
People want to feel appreciated. You remember the people you
most admire for what they did and do for you. As an empathetic
leader, you leave an indelible impact on the lives of others.
You accomplish this by developing a "Servant's Heart", helping
them become more successful.
In a healthy organization people have a personal stake in the
vision of the business. The effective leader develops an
organization where people want to work and want to do their
best. At the same time he does not sacrifice performance. He
builds accountability into the culture of the organization.
Everyone understands the performance imperative and this mutual
understanding brings great results.
Gaining personal success through helping others is timeless.
William Shakespeare said, "The more I give to thee, the more I
have."
And to quote Ralph Waldo Emerson, "A man cannot help another
without helping himself even more."
To become an extraordinary leader and develop sustainable
success, become significant. Make an indelible impact on the
lives of others.