What I Never Expected to Learn

Funny how the roads you travel on in the different facets of your life seem to converge every once in a while and land you right at not a cross-roads,  or even an intersection, more of a vortex that you can wade through..
What am I talking about?
I had the pleasure last week of filling 3 days with learning.  In Leadership Windsor-Essex our day was spent discussing and experiencing health and human services.  This was eye-opening to say the least.  I am now beginning to understand how human services work in my area - not sure of my conclusions yet...will keep you posted.

I spent another 2 days visiting Atlanta Georgia for a Host Retreat for Leadercast - an event my business partner and I host each year in May with the support of the St. Clair College Alumni Association.  This was an opportunity to connect with other host site facilitators as well as the company that sponsors the event - Chick-fil-A.  This is one of the most interesting (and amazing) companies I have ever visited.  The basis of their values is quite simple -

  Do not be a transaction company....give value beyond the transaction.  And there is a lot more to say with this....but I digress.

It was in connecting with the 187 other sites that attended that I learned about how others promote Leadercast and why they do it.  Not only why, but where.  It was the generosity of spirit and guidance the truly impacted me.  This, along with learning how these community leaders move forward and take care of each other in each community.  Many of the hosts are ministries or churches  - and their focus is on developing the leadership in their community so that they can all move forward together.  This is also our reason - for providing hope and inspiration, along with a day of networking and community about leadership.  I guess what really struck me was how they take Leadercast beyond, how it is integral to the work they do.  It was truly a transformational event.

Coming back to the city, I prepared for a fundraising and awareness event for Homelessness Awareness week which started on Saturday - again..the vortex continued to expand in my vision.

I never expected to be treated like royalty at the Detroit Metro Airport - amazing service.

I never expected to be taken care of and appreciated in the manner that Giant Impaet did this week.

I never expected to meet as many focused and like-minded individuals.

I never expected to look in the mirror and see a changed person looking back.

Who did you see when you looked in the mirror this morning?

Happiness Delivers

Doing research for a client, I cam across a fabulous resource at LexBlog - http://www.lexblog.com/ .
I ask for information and was promptly answered (same day, in less than 2 hours) and given time for an appointment to get even more details.  The call was awesome, and even better was the alignment I found between my company and LexBlog.
On their Please Advise page - support and service blog, I found a post from July all about Delivering Happiness and the Zappos.com/Tony Hsieh story.  If you have been reading my blog here, you know Delivering Happiness is one of my all-time favourite reads - to the point where I even toured the Las Vegas office.
We had a great discussion on the phone about the book and the tour and how companies are built through culture that resonates all the way to the last word.  It was wonderful!  Kevin O'Keefe - you are on my list of favourites - thanks for what you have developed!

Leadership DNA

So....what are you made of?  What can you say, comprises you, or your leadership?
How do you know that what you have is what it takes to be a leader?

Leadership DNA is a project that I have been working on for a while.  It has been living in the back of my mind - germinating - so to speak.  It has come to light in the form of a series of half- day workshops that will begin in the Fall of 2011 in my local market.  But this is not a commercial, more of an introduction to what has been developing and why.  (If you would really like to read more about it go to my website http://www.solsticegroupcoaching.com/ and look at 'Leadership')

I have discovered (and I don't usually write about myself, but I am today) that leaders come in all shapes and sizes, experiences and inexperiences, and -as if you didn't already know - a variety of interests and ideologies that make them up.  At the same time, they seem to all be focused on one particular outcome - that the service of others - their company, their team, their community, comes before their ego.

I have also discovered that there is a lack of understanding about leadership - what it is, what it can do, how it can influence and connect with others.  All off the leadership traits are personal and reflected outward in a manner that creates a positive and motivating environment. 
It is sharing what you know. 
It is providing value without further intention.
It is being yourself and responsible for your actions, accountable to the world around you.

Look at yourself - what do you think?

Surround Yourself

Picture yourself in the middle of this circle.  You are the leader of this new team.

You have empty chairs around you.
You get the opportunity to select your own team.
Who are you going to choose?

As a leader, who you surround yourself with makes a huge impact on product or service your clients will receive.  As a leader, you need to surround yourself with experts in each area of your responsibility.  Why?  Good Leaders know that they are not the expert at everything, and they need great people around them to lead...to help them accomplish the agenda set out before them...to create the best product or service for their clients...to know that they can count on the team to execute.

Now take a few minutes and do the exercise. Who would you want on your team?  Why do you want that particular individual there?  What will they bring to the table, that you need at the table?

Lead a Life of Service

There is a relationship in life to service. By living a life of service, you are in fact following a path that provides for others. It is a selfless life. Not selfless in the manner of giving everything away (unless you want to). In business, service is how we take care of our customers or clients, how we take care of each other -co-workers, colleagues, peers, leaders, support teams.

Service can be described in the following ways:
• A way to make others happy
• A transaction in exchange for payment, either for a product or experience
• The opportunity to care for others
By taking the description of service and applying it to our companies and our teams, you can begin to form a structure or even parameters to develop a service-oriented value base. By developing a service culture or atmosphere, you will then start relating how the organization operates to the benefit the customer will derive. The golden rule -treat others how you wish to be treated, or treat others how they would like to be treated, certainly lend themselves to a service environment. Understanding that service is for both internal and external customers, the rules still apply.

Should the type of customer influence our level of service? Absolutely not! The goal of a service-driven organization is to build confidence in the company- both internally and externally, and to empower good decision making based on a service philosophy. Internally, team members will make decisions in the best interest of then external customer. Externally, customers will make the decision to purchase your product or service on a regular basis.

Service requires skill. Service requires the ability to communicate, including verbal and written skills, listening skills, ability to empathize, get buy in, commitment to achieve and execute as well as admit mistakes, correct them and move forward.

Service requires patience and the ability to resolve conflicts, the ability to introduce and implement change, the ability to create a vision and build a plan to reach that vision. Service sounds a lot like leadership. In fact, leaders are in the service business.

Service provides confidence, builds relationships and creates opportunities where people can be empowered, develop and grow. Teams understand how to build relationships because of the service model they embody everyday and have a mechanism for making decisions because of the value set that service provides.

Whether you have chosen a life of service or fallen into it, you can begin to see that life and the experiences life brings lends itself well to service of others. Leaders frequently call upon stories, past experiences to teach others lessons that they have learned along the way. Sharing is service. Being available is service. Lending a hand is service. Providing feedback and open, honest communication is service. Service comes from the most authentic part of us. Service does not single out anyone but instead creates an equal footing for all. Do you lead a life of service?

Business Breakthrough...Are Your Ready?

If you’ve been working to grow your business for a while now and things aren’t happening as fast as you want, then I’d like to help you create a MAJOR business BREAKTHROUGH.


Here’s the scoop…


I’ve heard from a lot of small businesses that are having an especially difficult time getting their business to grow fast these days. After hearing about so many people’s struggles, I decided to do something about it…

I’d like to invite you to take advantage of a special, “Business Breakthrough” coaching session where we’ll work together to…


• Create a crystal clear vision for your ‘ultimate business success’ and the “perfect lifestyle” you’d like your business to provide

• Uncover hidden challenges that may be sabotaging the growth of your business and keeping you working too many hours.

• Leave this session renewed, re-energized, and inspired to turn your business into a highly profitable, revenue-generating machine that practically runs itself.


If you’d like to take advantage of this very special, very limited, and totally FREE 30 minute “Business Breakthrough” coaching session, comment below and answer these questions…
1. How long have you had your business?
2. What kind of product/service do you provide?
3. What are your revenue goals for the next 12 months?
4. What was your business revenue over the last 12 months? (ballpark)
5. What do you see as the major challenges holding you and your business back from growing at the pace you want?

6. On a scale of 0-10, how important is it for you to overcome your challenges and achieve your goals today?

7. Full Name

8. Email Address

9. Phone #

10. Time Zone


NO Personal and Confidential Information will be posted to the Blog.  This is for contact only.


Let me know the areas you would most like to work on:
Marketing
Sales Process
Turning Your Team Into High Performers
Cash Flow Strategies
Customer Service
Systemizing & Streamlining Processes
Leadership & Delegation
...Anything else you can think of that will move the needle for your business.


Again, to take advantage of this offer, simply comment below and answer the questions listed above.

Warmest Regards,


Lora
Professional Success Coach
Solstice Group Coaching