Delivering Service as a Leader

Research sparks my creative side.  Business predictions often inspire me to put ideas into action. Reading an Ian Altman article on 2016 business trends,   (https://www.forbes.com/sites/ianaltman/2015/12/01/top-10-business-trends-that-will-drive-success-in-2016/2/#6f662ce6042e), I got stuck on #6.

Leaders Will Invest In A Corporate Culture Of Customer Service To Grow Revenue

Historically, companies spend way more money on marketing than on customer service. Ian Altman's article suggests that smart companies are now embracing customer experience and customer service as a new form of marketing.  He says, "The fastest way to grow your business is to NOT lose existing customers." 

After reading that, I thought: "The only way to deliver consistently outstanding service is to retain your best people..." While it seems obvious, some leaders miss this point. 

When I consider this "guest experience" mindset, it leads me to ask: "What about the team member experience?  How do employees feel working here? Do our leaders serve our people?"

We know that being a leader comes with responsibility and challenges. Most of us have competing (and urgent) priorities and problems. Prioritizing what to focus on now and what to do next requires careful thought.  We need to add this  to the "to-do" list: "What have I done today to inspire our staff to create unique, memorable experiences?"  Honestly, some problems really would go away if the staff population were completely "bought in" and motivated to achieve higher levels of service delivery, right?

Servant leadership was documented as early as the fifth-century BC by Lao-Tzu. The modern exploration of this topic includes The Servant as Leader, written by Robert Greenleaf (1970), The Art of Leadership by Max De Pree (1987), and Give and Take: A Revolutionary Approach to Success, by Adam Grant (2013).   

If you want to evaluate yourself as a servant leader or set goals to improve, consider these actions:  

1. Devote yourself to serving the needs of those inside the organization as role model for what "service" actually looks like.  It sounds so simple: focus on others more than yourself.  While many of us set out to do this,  our schedule, deadlines, emails, and complaints pile up and get us off track.  Carefully consider your moods -- others should see you composed, organized, enthusiastic, and genuinely courteous.  Your behavior is on display in every interaction. The way you treat your team will set the tone for how they treat the guests. 
2. Communicate relentlessly. Give people the information they need to do their job and build commitment to the company's purpose.  Share successes and challenges.  Let  everyone ask questions and answer them in a truthful, non-defensive way.  Encourage staff to bring management new ideas.  High employee engagement requires healthy, meaningful dialogue. Spend time listening to your team to build a sense of community.
3. Coach others to do more than they believe possible.  Ask people about their goals and show them creative ways they can accomplish even more.  Ask questions to make people think about "what-if" scenarios.  Role-play guest interactions and give suggestions that line up with your culture. Avoid being a critic.  A good coach is so approachable that people run to share when they reach a new goal. Celebrate those moments. 
4. Lovingly hold yourself and others accountable.  Push for success -- even if that means having high performance expectations and outstanding quality standards. Being a servant leader does not mean that the expectations are lower or that underperformers get a free pass.  The opposite is true.  When you make a mistake, own up to it publicly and commit to making lasting changes to achieve better outcomes.  This makes it okay for you to call others out on missteps and encourage them to follow policies, meet commitments, and accomplish goals.
5. Moderate the personal characteristics that might get in the way. Ego will keep you from showing a desire to serve others, so will a strong need to be right or a controlling style.  Stress brings out the worst in most of us but we need to treat staff the way we expect them to treat our guests, especially in high-pressure situations. 

Here a high impact plan: Ask a few people close to you (outside of work) if they think you display a willingness to care for others and an ability to set aside your personal agenda to give others what they want or need.  You may learn that some behaviors make you look like service and hospitality are not among your core values. Only you can build service into your leadership brand.