Learning from leaders

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Here at the-Coaching Blog-run by Gerard O’Donovan, our aim is to constantly bring value to those seeking to improve their lives. Therefore we have a policy of publishing articles and materials by guest authors whom we value and appreciate. Today’s guest author is Christine Charles (United Kingdom).
On July 6th I attended a Fun day organised by the company I work for. Expecting to have a nice time with family I walked away having had a nice time as well as being reminded what good leadership is!
The CEO & directors were present and not only that but the CEO was pitching in and serving drinks. It’s quite something seeing your CEO working behind the bar, it made me reflect for the few minutes I was in the queue, the last time I saw a CEO muck in and help out was my sister when her organisation was raising funds for underprivileged children. I know her and know that she would not be happy if she was not mucking in, getting her hands dirty. This time was different. I thought of all the leaders that I have come across and how many of them would be willing to even entertain the thought never mind actually do it!
When I was growing up and still to this day, I hear people talk about being led from the heart, when you do everything flows, I used to frown upon this and think ‘that really isn’t very practical,’ when I did try (in my youth) I would end up daydreaming about being the next biggest pop star!
With age comes experience, you learn, you question and you understand yourself & find your balance. I now know that this is what some people meant: finding your balance can mean different things to different leaders. For my sister, being led from the heart and finding her balance means giving back to her sector in the form of volunteering; for my mentor, it means making sure that she is happy in her work, she is connected to her purpose and above all making a difference, and for my  CEO, certainly one of the things I learnt that day by his simple actions was that no matter what level you are at we are all human. Humility goes a long way, all are admirable & needed attributes, which serve their purpose for the right occasion.
If you are a leader, what type of message do you want to send out? What is your core message? Are you connected to your core purpose and your people? To be respected as a leader you will have to, at certain points step out of your comfort zone. Are you prepared to do that?
Yesterday I went shopping to my local Sainsbury’s store, and observed a poor example of customer service, or shall I say the lack of it. When I spoke with the store manager about what had happened her response was “we put productivity before customer service.” With leadership like this no wonder the employees behave in the manner that I observed.
These are all good lessons and remind me that the next time I step into the role of a leader whether it be in my personal or professional life to lead from the heart because when I do my perspective changes along with my behaviour to suit the scene.
The store manager is led by productivity because she knows this is what she is measured on, unfortunately for her she forgets that customers = productivity. Whereas the CEO at DPD understands that if the workforce is happy then they will give the best customer service, he understands the bigger picture, people and appreciates how vital it is for the business to have a bottom up approach.
What’s your approach?
 
Credit Source:
Christine Charles (United Kingdom).
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