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Lead Me: Help Me to Become More Than I Realize I Can Be

by Bryan K. Willliams, D.M.
February 1, 2012


Everyday there are many employees who go to work, and are looking for one thing. No, the one thing I am referring to has nothing to do with compensation. The “one thing” is more intrinsic in nature. These employees are looking to be inspired. Tony Zseigh, CEO of Zappos.com, made a very interesting statement that really resonated with me. He said, “At Zappos.com, we stopped looking for ways to motivate our team and started looking for ways to inspire them.” The connotation is that being inspired resonates on a much deeper level and tends to last longer than being merely motivated, which may not be as enduring.
 
On a personal note, I know that my greatest contributions at work almost always happened after I felt inspired to do more than what was expected. I’ve been fortunate to have had multiple mentors throughout my career. These mentors guided me, challenged me, and yes, inspired me to see more, do more and become more. The purpose of this article is to shed some light on what it takes to inspire your team to become more than they realize they can be.
 
So, here are six things that inspire people at work (from the employee’s perspective):
 
  1. A compelling vision: Much has been written about vision statements. Truly, the vision is the primary tool that great leaders use to influence (not mandate) others to follow them. The vision should clearly explain where the leader expects the team to be years from now.  
* Voice of the Employee: “I want to be on a winning team. I need to know where we are going. Please tell me. After all, if I know where we are going, I will be more inclined to help us get there. Lead Me.”
 
  1. Clearly articulated mission: The mission should easily show what your team does, how your team does it, why it does it, and who it does it for. The central purpose of why your team exists should be readily found in the mission.
* Voice of the Employee: “I want to be clear about what we do. Even more than that, I want to be proud of what we do. I want to brag to my family and friends about the great team I am on. Lead me.”
 
  1. Alignment between the vision and mission: One of the biggest gaps many companies have is that there is no clear connection between where the company is going (vision), what the company does (mission) and individual employee job performance. When employees can see how their specific job contributes to the organization’s success, they are more likely to put more effort into their work.
* Voice of the Employee: “I need to know how I fit into the bigger picture. Is my specific job even that important? The vision and mission both sound good, but I don’t know how I can possibly help fulfill them. Lead me.”
 
  1. Connect to a greater purpose (Special Note.. This point is especially relevant for Generation Y and Millenials): Even beyond your company’s vision and mission, why is your company’s existence a benefit to society. Why is the world any better because your company is in it?
* Voice of the Employee: “I need to know how this company contributes to the well-being of society. How does the service and/or product we provide help to improve people’s lives? Are we volunteering our time, donating to charities and being environmentally responsible? Lead me.”

  1. Learn both personal and professional goals: Beyond the daily work that your staff does, take the time to learn each of your employees’ professional and personal goals. As the old saying goes, people buy into the leader before they buy into the leadership.
* Voice of the Employee: “I need you to know me, and understand me. Take the time to learn both my professional and personal goals. Challenge me to achieve them. Mentor me, coach me, and follow-up with me. Lead me.”
 
  1. Uncompromising leadership: One of the fastest ways to de-motivate your best staff is if they see you accepting mediocrity from the rest of the team. Do NOT compromise your high expectations. If you do, one of the first ramifications is a once-great employee will decide to either quit-and-leave OR quit-and-stay.
* Voice of the Employee: “I need you to set high expectations and commit to them. Please don’t compromise them. As easy as it is to look the other way when a team member doesn’t pick up that piece of paper, please say something. I love my job and I love this company, but I don’t want to be a part of a losing team. I want us to win. This team deserves to win and winning teams have winning leaders. These leaders do not tolerate foolishness. My only professional dream is to work for a team AND a leader who are both committed to excellence. Have I found them? Lead me.”


About Bryan K. Williams
Dr. Bryan K. Williams is the Chief Service Officer of B.Williams Enterprise, and the author of Engaging Service: 22 Ways to Become a Service Superstar and Work Like You Own It! 20 Ways to Go From Meeting to Exceeding Your Customers’ Expectations. Bryan’s passion is world-class customer service, and has facilitated workshops and delivered keynotes all over the world for various companies.  He speaks on a variety of topics related to service excellence, employee engagement, and organizational improvement.  As a consultant, Bryan works closely with companies to design, develop, and implement sustainable service strategies. His company’s online store includes a growing collection of customer service products that are well-suited for your training library.

Find more resources relating to service excellence at www.bwenterprise.net.

Also on the website, you can subscribe to the official B.Williams Enterprise emailing list.  You will receive announcements, newsletters and other excellent resources.

-We exist to serve others so they may better serve the world ®.-

Both of Bryan’s books can be purchased at http://shop.bwenterprise.net/ 

 


Contact:

B. Williams Enterprise, LLC 

Website: www.bwenterprise.net
Email:  [email protected] 
Facebook: BWEnterprise
Twitter: @bwenterprise
Phone: 240-401-6958

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Also See: Complimentary Teleseminar with Dr. Bryan K. Williams! 10 Things To Improve Service In Your Business / January 2012

Earn and Re-Earn Your Customers' Loyalty / Bryan K. Williams, D.M. / December 2011

Honor Your Customers / Bryan K. Williams, D.M. / October 2011

Work Like You Own It! 20 Ways to Go From Meeting to Exceeding Your Customers' Expectations: New Book by Dr. Bryan K. Williams / October 2011

Service Excellence 101: Be Welcoming / Dr. Bryan K. Williams, DM / September 2011

The Three Ingredients of Engaging Service: Humility, Reverence & Professionalism / Dr. Bryan K. Williams, DM / August 2011

Service Excellence: The MOST Important Thing To Create a Service Culture! / Dr. Bryan K. Williams, DM / July 2011

Service Excellence 101: How to Serve a VIP / Dr. Bryan K. Williams, DM / June 2011

The 1st Step of Service: Be Eager to Serve / Dr. Bryan K. Williams, DM / May 2011

World-Class Service: The Double-Platinum Rule 2.0 / Dr. Bryan K. Williams, DM / April 2011

Customer Problem Resolution: The 100% Principle / Dr. Bryan K. Williams, DM / March 2011

World-Class Service 102: Be memorable / Dr. Bryan K. Williams, DM / February 2011

Take your service to the next level: Only BIG WOW’s…No bow-wow’s / Dr. Bryan K. Williams, DM / February 2011

Service Excellence: Inspect What You Expect / Bryan K. Williams, D.M. / November 2010

Work Like You Own It 2.0; Energize it. Recognize it. Celebrate it. / Bryan K. Williams, D.M. / September 2010

World-Class Service 101: Know the difference between meeting and exceeding expectations / Dr. Bryan K. Williams / July 2010

Service Superstars Part 2: Treat them like they own it! / Dr. Bryan K. Williams / June 2010

Make each touchpoint memorable: Cha-Ching! / Dr. Bryan K. Williams / April 2010

Service Superstars: Work like you own it! / Bryan Williams / February 2010

Complimentary resources from Bryan K. Williams and B.Williams Enterprise! Begin 2010 with a focus on world-class service. / January 2010

Service Ambassadors: The Key to Providing World-Class Service / Bryan K. Williams / November 2009

5-Star Employees - Part 3 / Bryan K. Williams / September 2009

5-Star Employees - Part 2 / Bryan K. Williams / August 2009

5-Star Employees - Part 1/ Bryan K. Williams / July 2009

Engaging Service: 22 Ways to Become a Service Superstar / Bryan K. Williams / July 2009

Complimentary tele-seminars with Bryan K. Williams in July! / July 2009

Building a Team of Living It Employees / Bryan K. Williams / June 2009

World-Class Service: What if every employee served like a concierge? / Byran K Williams / March 2009

5 Star Leadership: What Does It Take to Be a 5-star Leader? / Byran Williams / February 2009

5 Stars vs. 4 Stars: What’s the Difference? / Byran Williams / January 2009

Complimentary training with Bryan Williams / January 2009

The 7 Principles of EngageMeTM is now available! / Bryan K. Williams / November 2008

Hiring and Engaging a World-Class Team / Bryan K. Williams / October 2008

Great Ideas for National Customer Service Week 2008 / Bryan K. Williams / September 2008

Delivering World-Class Service Part 3: Company Service Standards / Bryan K. Williams / September 2008

Delivering World-Class Service Pt. 2: Personal Service Standards / Bryan K. Williams / September 2008

Delivering World-Class Service: Function vs. Purpose / Bryan K. Williams / August 2008

Guest Problem Resolution 101: Power of the Follow-Up / Bryan K. Williams / June 2008

7 Principles to Fully Engage Your Customers – Part 2 / Bryan K. Williams / May 2008

7 Principles to Fully Engage Your Customers / Bryan K. Williams / April 2008

I Am a Service Professional™ / Bryan K. Williams / March 2008

Engage Every Customer…One Touchpoint at a Time / Bryan K. Williams / January 2008

Engaging Service Part 2: It’s All About the Culture / Bryan K. Williams / December 2007

Engaging Service Part 1: Not Just for the Chic / Bryan K. Williams / November 2007

Service Excellence: A Destination or a Journey? / Bryan K. Williams / October 2007

National Customer Service Week is Coming Soon - October 1-5, 2007 / September 2007

National Customer Service Week is Coming Soon - October 1-5, 2007 / September 2007

Engage Me…the Voice of Your Customer www.engagemenow.com / September 2007

Customer Engagement: Where do we begin? / Byran K Williams / August 2007

Engage Me…the Voice of Your Customer / www.engagemenow.com / August 2007

B. Williams Enterprise, LLC Launches Engage Me…  the Voice of Your Customer / August 2007

To Engage…Listen to the Voice of Your Customer / Byran K Williams / August 2007

To Engage the Guest, You Must Engage Those Who Directly Serve the Guest / Byran K Williams / July 2007

Three Service Rules: The Golden Rule, Platinum Rule, and Double Platinum Rule/ Byran K Williams / June 2007

The Greatest Bellman I Ever Met… / Bryan K. Williams / April 2006

Sorry to Say…But Some People Should Not be Serving Other Human Beings / Bryan K Williams / October 2006
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