Last week while enjoying the beach with my visiting family I got the chance to see beautiful pelicans flying by in formation. I don’t see that very often and last week I had the experience 3 times. It was then I remembered something I’d written in the Customer Care Coach® and used my handy “find” option to locate it so I could comment on it. It’s not about pelicans, it’s about geese.
Have you ever watched a flock of geese fly (and honk) its way across the sky in a v-shaped formation? They fly that way because it’s very efficient. In his book entitled, In Formation , Larry W. Dennis Sr. notes that when the lead goose gets tired and drops back, the formation quickly reorganizes to maintain the formation.
Why?
When a bird attempts to fly solo, it quickly experiences a lot of drag and resistance. When back in formation it benefits from the “uplift” created by the bird in front of it. In fact, with no additional effort the whole flock increases its flying range by 71% when flying in a “V.” Dennis calls this the 71% advantage. Value driven companies have this advantage.
Leaders who share a common vision and common values with their team also tend to “travel,” or reach goals, on an uplifting thrust. Today’s most successful leaders work through their teams and share the power with them (rather than exert power over them.)
Successful customer centric leaders lead the way by modeling the way.
They know their employees hear what they say but they see what they do. When people see you exemplify your values, day in and day out, not just when someone is watching, they see and feel your authenticity and sincerity and it becomes easy to trust you.
Living the company or departmental values begins with your commitment to your personal values. That means taking a little time to understand what your values are and how you live them through the experiences you provide for your customers – the external as well as the internal ones.
Here are nine ways to keep your personal values front and center, keeping your value-rich environment healthy and strong:
- Have clear in your own mind the beliefs on which you base the success of your organization – what matters to you – understand your own values.
- Write a personal leadership credo.
- Share your credo.
- Write a tribute to your organization and connect to its higher purpose.
- Audit your actions to see if they are in alignment with your values.
- Establish systems – be disciplined about living your values.
- Be a good storyteller. Transmit the values through stories.
- Find teachable moments and use them.
- Be emotional. Show your passion for your values.
Spending the time to understand our values was one of the most important exercises we’ve ever done here. If you want to see our values, to give you an idea of what our value statement looks like. Click here
Because we are a tiny company – these organizational values are also personal – deeply personal.
If you want to understand more about living through your values – we have a special report on them that has a process you can use to discover your values and your team values.
It teaches you how to identify your values and transform them into action.
Until next time ~ all the best,
JoAnna
