One of the few television shows I used to watch was Undercover Boss. In a nutshell the show took top CEO’s and executives and put them inside the bottom level of their organization a way to get back in touch with the people and find out the good and the bad that’s happening within their companies.
That’s the approach I take with my own team and customers, and its how you actually create a team that will be loyal and trust you.
Offering value and being honest is great to win initial trust and get people in the door, great customer service will keep people happy and bring people back, but when you have a team or organization that’s working with you every day, staying in touch with their needs and concerns is the only way that will work successfully.
Leadership’s Multiplying Effect
There are a lot of reasons why you should focus on your team but the one I want to focus on today is production, and there is a backstory to it.
In a recent post about leadership I talked a little bit about how leadership has a multiplying effect on your results. In that scenario, a person had a choice of work harder and longer hours, or develop their leadership abilities.
Well, last week I listened to a million-dollar earner who built her organization through leadership and what she said really drove home the point about multiplying effects.
She told everyone in that company to go check the leaderboards and make note of the fact that she’s not a top producer when it comes to the most leads or the most personal sales. She said that she’s never won any of the competitions either.
Yet, she’s one of the top earners in the company.
Do you know where she spends her time? She spends her time in her organization training leaders and teaching them to produce.
Interesting.
So the thought that I wanted to impart to you reading this right now is that there are two ways to get massive results in your business.
1. First, you can produce a lot of personal results, which is important.
2. Or second, you can help your team produce.
You actually need both in business. The first is a “hunting” strategy. Bringing in fast sales and high numbers is generally a cash game. Pay your bills, fund projects, etc.
The other is a “farming” strategy. Bringing in long term, consistent, residual income.
My mom has this saying, while the grass is growing, the horse is starving which basically means you need to eat now while you’re waiting on the income from long term projects.
But in context of this post, staying in touch with your team, helping them produce is exactly what people look for to feel secure and feel stable in any organization.
How many times have you heard, “management just doesn’t get it” or “the owner doesn’t really now what’s happening” or similar statements.
What happens when people feel there is a disconnect between the leaders of a company and what’s actually going on within the operation is that people jump ship and look for something more stable.
Essentially what you do is disenfranchise the people that work for you or with you in your organization and on your team.
The sense of community or family will boost morale, and when people feel that, it has a reinforcing effect that energizes your team.
Bottom line: If you want a long lasting organization; if you want the benefits of loyalty and trust and having the multiplying effects of leadership, you can’t afford to be out of touch with your team.
I would continue explaining in depth, but I think the episode clip from Undercover Boss drives the point home. Pay attention to what a lot of people are saying, especially in the plant about how they feel about the son, and you will see exactly what I’m saying.
Enjoy the video guys and girls. Please leave a comment below. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this.
Dexter this is awesome advice and a very timely reminder for all of us who want to build large, happy teams.