Posts
Many within (and outside of!) the Delta Companies, Inc., organization will know Wally from his many training sessions at Colas University, various Colas meetings, and even our own Delta Days training events. As a former U.S. Marine Officer, Wally led a tank battalion before becoming a pilot of AH-1W Super Cobra attack helicopters. Today, he serves as President of FireStarter Speaking and Consulting. To learn more about Wally, visit his website at www.firestarterspeaking.com.
Our exploration of "NO YELLING: The 9 Secrets of Marine Corps Leadership You Must Know to Win in Business", continues with the fifth secret: Take Care of People which includes: At Work, At Home, and For Life.
At its core, leadership is about people. Fundamental to this concept is that leaders take care of their people.
At Work
Beyond the expectation and responsibility that the leader will take care of the led, when a leader takes care of his people he sends a clear message: I care about you, I respect you, and I want you to be OK.
If the leader listens to people and understands their unique needs and perspectives, individuals get the message that the leader cares.
Another way to show respect for those you work with is to be punctual. Timeliness does matter.
As humans, we naturally take care of people we respect. This mutual respect is essential to productive relationships.
Taking care of people often means going out of your way for them. The effort is well worth it. People remember it for years to come.
"...the leadership has the responsibility to take all reasonable measures to provide for the welfare of the 'troops' whenever possible, and especially following periods of hardship." - Tom Matkin, Major USMC.
Do not lower your standards. Leaders who overlook poor performance are compromising their integrity. Let's be clear, we should not coddle them. We should treat people as adults and expect the best from them. We should work to give them the best working environment we can, and we should implement timely and proper corrective action when necessary. We want to take care of them so they will want to take care of us.
At Home
Taking care of your people at home is more difficult to do, but that shouldn't stop you from doing what you can.
No one is just going to tell you about things at home. You have to build up to that by establishing credibility with your people. Research shows that if someone is dealing with issues of any kind at home, there is a high probability that those issues will negatively impact job performance.
There are times when we politely listen and move on, and there are times when we must take some type of action to help the employee.
Make time for people: turn off the phone and the computer. Talk to them at lunch or on a break; bring in doughnuts. Remember their child's birthday, their anniversary. These actions begin to create a bond that pulls them to work. They want to come to work because they are engaged, and they also feel more comfortable talking to you about personal issues.
People want their leadership to know who they are and that they have value as a person. People want to be respected. By getting to know them personally and treating them as people, respect develops, tight bonds form, and great deeds are accomplished. This process takes time and effort.
The cliché "don't tell me how much you care - SHOW me how much you care" comes to mind.
For Life
Transition assistance programs and graceful terminations are examples, in the civilian sector, of putting this concept of taking care of people and maintaining a relationship in place. People may ask, "Why bother? You are probably not going to hire them back." That is correct, you probably will not, but they are still out there in the marketplace with the opportunity to talk about your firm to peers and customers.
When I have to fire someone, I know I am impacting their livelihood and the family of a human being. Real people are affected by my action, so I make sure I have no recourse. I coach, train, counsel, document, and do everything else I possibly can so that if I have to let someone go, I know (and they know) that I did all I could and it doesn't come as a surprise. I treat people with dignity. Call it my "Golden Rule of Letting Someone Go" or call it "Dad's Rule".
Summary
Taking care of people is one of the fundamental responsibilities of leadership. It requires deliberate, intentional effort, and sometimes the efforts of the leader will be rebuffed. That is not a reason to stop doing it. The return on investment of time and money in taking care of people is very high.
Taking care of people is about setting a standard and helping them achieve it. This approach is not coddling nor is it a sign of weakness from the leader. It is quite easy to dismiss people but it is far too difficult to replace them. It is far better to create an environment where they want to stay and they want to make a positive contribution.
"It doesn't matter what they do for you, we have to treat them with human compassion." - Brooks Gruber, Captain USMC.
Donald G Rosenbarger
Senior Vice President
Delta Companies Inc
No comments:
Post a Comment