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Death of a Title: Resurrection of a Leader
I had to learn this lesson the hard way. I remember telling my employees what I needed them to do and I would use my supervisors name, because I knew it carried more weight. What I realized is that, they were not working for me but for my supervisor who they respected and had reported to before I took over the store. I was insecure in my leadership, so I though I would use someone else’s to get the job done. I needed to get my team working for me, using my own voice. Yes, I had to stand on my own two leadership feet and it was a little scary, but as you can see, I am still here, I survived. I didn’t die.
Have you ever worked for someone who used their title to get things done? If you have, I know you hated it.
Well, I have a friend who works for the government. Every time we talk she share with me something her supervisor has done, and it’s always something where the supervisor uses her title to threaten people with their jobs to get things done. That is a bully and not a leader. She shared with me once that she put in a request to be off over thirty days in advance. After about a week of putting in her request she had not received a response from her supervisor, so she informed her supervisor she would need to be off because she was attending her family reunion. Her supervisor said, only if we have enough people. So my friend, worked to cover her shift by another employee so she could have the time off and the business would have enough people to cover the shifts. Once she had it covered, she informed her supervisor and her supervisor told her, “you know I can reject the replacement you found as the supervisor.” Now that is leading with a title.
Here are three ways to kill your title and resurrect a leader:
- Use your own voice. Anytime you have to use someone else’s voice, it means you are insecure in your own leadership. It means that you are not confident in your leadership abilities. You have to know, that employees know what you are doing, and have to know that you are losing credibility and trust.
- Don’t use your title to get things done. No one wants to work for a title, but everyone wants to work for a great leader. If your title is carrying all the weight, then you need to workout your leadership muscle and gain some strength.
- Ask and Explain. Everyone needs to understand the why. When you need something done, or give a direction, explain why it is important. As the leader you have the right to ask for things to be done, and there is a way to do everything.
As leaders, not a manager, you have to INgage your employees. You will get more done and somethings done without asking.
it’s time to kill the title so that a leader can come forth.
It’s time to INgage.
Becky A. Davis
Becky A Davis from M.V.P.work. Visit us today at http://www.mvpwork.com.
You only need one leadership strategy to be successful
You only need one leadership strategy to be successful.
PEOPLE
The only leadership strategy that you need is a people strategy. Every other strategy will mean nothing if you do not have the right people, the best people and skilled people to implement any strategy.
I have worked in retail management for over 18 years and learned that nothing is more important than people. No matter how good you are, if you have a team that does not follow your leadership, you are not as good as you think. We have all heard the saying, “work smarter not harder,” when you focus on getting results by taking care of your people, you are working smarter. If you don’t focus on taking care of your employees, I promise you are working a lot harder than you have to.
It drives me crazy to see managers that only focus on results and bypass the people who are responsible for helping you to achieve those results. I know how it feels to considered a result and not person, which is why it drives me crazy when I see it because I know what it feels like. Guess what? It’s not a good feeling.
Here is a simple plan that will help you with your most important strategy to improve performance and get results.
- Show appreciation: Take the time to let your employees know that you appreciate their hard work and their efforts. You will not believe how far a complement of encouragement will go and how much more the employee will be willing to do because of appreciation.
- Recognize small contributions: When you publicly or privately recognize your employees contribution, it will automatically lift morale and you gain trust. In today’s market, employees are doing the work of two people and sometimes three.
- Collaborate: When you involve your employees in the decision-making you gain more buy-in from them. You can tell them what to do but if you ask them what should be done, you will increase the productivity of that employee because they will work to prove that was the right decision since they were apart of it.
These are three simple actions for you as a manager to take that will pay you back ten fold in productivity. As leaders it is easy to get focused on reports, key performance indicators, spreadsheets, conference calls, action plans and on and on, but in all of that don’t forget about taking care of your people.
If you take care of them, they will take care of you.
Go INgage your team,
Torch Bearer for Purpose
The olympic torch started in Olympia Greece. Originally the torch was lit at Olympia and then carried by relay to the host-city. The last runner carries the torch into the olympic stadium during the opening ceremony. The flame is then lit from the torch and will remain until it was extinguished during the closing ceremony.
The first torch runner was in 1936 from Greece to Germany. There were 3330 runners that brought the flame through Greece, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Hungry, Austria, Chechoslovikia and Germany.
To be a torch bearer was considered an honor only given to local residents with a record of community service in addition to atheltes and celebrities.
You could not be a torch bearer if you did not serve others. Community service showed that there was a cause that you were passionate about and wanted to be apart of supporting or helping improve the cause. The torch bearer carries the flame from one place to another, always lit.
When you get to work each day are you being an M.V.P. work torch bearer? Do you see what you do everyday as a greater cause that’s connected to serving others? Do you carry your M.V.P. work flame with you from person to person?
M= Meaning. Do you know the true meaning behind what you do at work?
V=Values. Do you apply your personal values at work or deny your values at work?
P=Purpose. Do you work to make a difference by what you do at work?
If you answered yes to these questions, then you are a MVP player and work is good. Congratulations!
If you answered no, these are some side affects.
- You leave work unfulfilled.
- You look at work as a job that pays the bills.
- You are not engaged at work.
- You make sure you are jjust compliant.
- You are not committed to what you do.
- Your results are inconsistent.
- You are not as creative as you could be at work.
Arnold Glasow said, “Every great accomplishment is the story of a flaming heart.”
You can reignite the flame.
How?
First, start by looking for the larger meaning of the type of work you do. Ask yourself, “What is the significance of what I do everyday? How does it impact the people I serve? How does it impact the world?
This will help you understand the meaning behind what you do.
Second, write a list of your personal values. The values that you live by in your personal life. Then ask you self do I use these values at work or do I feel I need to deny those values in the work place. When you are not aligned personally and professionally, it brings chaos to your life. When you learn how to use those values at work and not deny them, you are willing to do more because it feels good to live a value you that’s important to you in every aspect of your life.
Lastly, what is the difference you want to make at work. Purpose is an outcome that guides your planned actions. When you make a difference, you make and impact and you feel fulfilled. Kenneth Hilderbrand said, “Strong lives are motivated by dynamic purpose; lesser ones exist on wishes and inclinations.”
It’s time to ignite the flame in your heart. It’s time for you to carry the torch from person to person. It’s time to run with your torch. An MVP torch is a sure fire way to get promoted, increase profits(I.P), improve performance(I.P) and impact people(I.P.).
What is your I.P. issue?
M.V.P. work can fix it.
Becky A. Davis
Make meaning not just Money
Make meaning not just money.
You get up everyday and go to work to come home tired, frustrated and unfulfilled. You do this day after day after day. Why? Because you have bills to pay, a family to take care of, things you want? I get it and I even understand it.
But what if your work could be different in the same job for the same company?
How? I’m glad you asked.
Dr. Victor Frankl, a prisoner of consentration camp in Auschwitz, believed that man seeks meaning, and that discovering the special significance in one’s life is a healing process.
What is the meaning of the work you do every day? When you are asked what type of work do you do, do you give your job title or explain the meaning behind what you do?
A mail carrier was asked, “do you enjoy delivering mail everyday?” She responded. “I don’t just deliver mail. I connect people together. People depend on me daily and it is my responsibility to not let them down.” That’s meaning. She is able to look at the big picture of her role at work.
It’s not about just making what you do soumd important. It’s about looking for the meaning in what you do every day.
Ask yourself these questions about your position?
- Why is what I do important to the people I serve?
- What’s the emotional benefit to others?
- Why does my job matter to the world?
These questions will start you thinking about the meaning of what you do everyday.
You can change your workplance if you focus on making meaning and not just money.
Becky
M.V.P. work (Meaning, Values, Purpose)
MVPwork 