Passion for Service

We’ve all heard about being of “Service” in our profession, and we likely have been the ones speaking about delivering “Exceptional Service”, but I’d like to dig a bit deeper into the Passion of Service.

True Service requires compassion and altruism.?Not just with our customers, but with employees, our leaders, our teammates, our family, friends, and even strangers.?

There is a shift in our overall mindset that is required to truly deliver Passion for Service.?Humans are smart, perceptive, and can easily read others.?None of us are sharp enough to pretend to deliver altruism and genuine Passion for Service without those around us seeing right through it. They may not say it.?They may not even give a hint that they are aware, but trust me when I say this….THEY KNOW.

That is why some inner work is required to take our Passion for Service to the next level, and for most of us, it’s easy to do if we are committed to upping our level of Service.?Doing this can lift our Service far above the rest of the pack, and become notable.?I don’t think there is a better way to be remembered than being remembered for the caring service that I delivered.?

Here are some tips for improving our Passion for Service:

·????????Pronounce a person’s name correctly, even if it’s an unusual name.?Ask for the correct pronunciation, and commit it to memory.?A person’s name is the most identifying and important word, so pronouncing their name correctly matters. ?The spelling of my name can have many pronunciations, and after saying that my name is pronounced Hel – Lay – Na, I notice the effort when another tries to get it right!?It matters!!

·????????Envision another’s life for a moment before engaging in delivering a message, or Service.?As a Mortgage Underwriter, I would always took 10 seconds, and imagined the stress, life changes, packing, children, etc., that this customer was likely experiencing.?I knew that a quick and sound approval could greatly reduce their stress.?I was diligent in not over conditioning loans that I underwrote.?When speaking to someone or sending a message, I think about how what I am saying will be received.?Will it lift the other person up??Will it bring compassion and caring into the conversation??Will it respectfully achieve the intent of what I want to say??Will it support the results that I am hoping to achieve?

·????????Not everyone has the same understanding and experience with certain topics as we might.?When we find ourselves in a conversation with someone where we are the expert, become the gentle teacher, not the “Big Words Impresser”.?Every person has a different way of understanding new information.?Listen and lean into the conversation with compassion.?As a Mortgage Technologist, I have learned that technology is not everyone’s friend. ?Many feel intimidated by it.?By being reassuring and caring in my delivery of new information, by letting the other person know that they aren’t alone in how they feel about technology, and by adding a little humor and friendliness, I know that I am giving the other person the safe place to learn in their own way.?Trust is developed.?

·????????Lift everyone you meet up to Greatness!?There is room in this world, this community, this office, for every single person to become great, and through Passion for Service, we can create the space for others to open their wings and soar towards greatness.?In lifting someone else up, it doesn’t pull us down.?Quite the contrary.?We lift ourselves up to further greatness.?This becomes such a fun and rewarding thing to do.?I compliment the cashier at the store.?I offer my time to others, even after hours at times, to help them learn and grow. Doing this has such powerful reciprocating results. ?Giving of ourselves to help those around us grow is important.?Keep in mind that all that each of us know, it came from another person who was giving of themselves to educate us.?This is Passion for Service!

·????????Be honest.?This is likely the key to Passion of Service.?Honestly doesn’t give us permission to say whatever we want, whenever we want, but it does deliver respect to another person.?It reflects that we see them as having the ability to process our thoughts and understanding of a topic.?It shows that we trust them with hearing our truth.?I think it’s important to say that even our most clear understanding of our truth is not infallible, it is just the truth that happens to belong to us.?By keeping this in mind, we can present our honesty and receive instant feedback openly.??Which leads to our last tip…

·????????Be flexible.?No human is perfect.?Every thought, idea, word, and action that we take is founded in the teaching of others.?We read books written by others.?We attend classes taught by others.?Our parents, siblings, friends, colleagues, they all have infused us with what we take in as the truth today.?We have specific experiences that also mold our truths.?A severe car accident could lead us to think that race care driving is a reckless and dangerous action to take, but to others, it’s their passion.??In remembering that our honesty, our truths, are just that…ours. It gives us the permission and freedom to truly listen to others and grow in unexpected ways.?

By combining these concepts and allowing them to permeate our day-to-day interactions with others, we can deliver the Passion for Service that will indeed be memorable, and what great side benefits these things deliver back into our own lives. Passion for Service can be delivered to everyone we meet, each and every day. Let’s all commit to Passion of Service!!