Ask yourself if you’re more engaged with what you do when you know you’re doing it for a person who is engaged with you. I’m sure you are. I know I am.
Check out this short interview by this ex-CEO and ask yourself if you’re engaged with your people. Here is the link.
One of the first lessons I learned in leading people is you have to show them you care. If all we do is care about the outcome and not about the person creating the outcome, we’re doomed for failure. I’ve spent time with leaders who engaged their people and those who did not, and I’ll tell you the difference is huge.
In other posts I’ve talked about bosses I like, and let me give you a quick example of one I hated and his view on people. The leader? Mike Harper, former CEO of ConAgra. When asked about benefits during an employee meeting, he responded, “If you want benefits, you can go to work for the post office.” Excuse me, what did he just say?
Think about what that comment meant to people. Think about how people processed that in their mind. Think about how people viewed their job after hearing that comment. Here’s what’s even more powerful — that comment was made nearly 25 years ago and yet I remember it as if it was first spoken yesterday.
If you’re not engaging with your employees and everyone else around you, what makes you think they’ll engage with customers? Poor customer service is a reflection of poor management.
If we expect great customer interaction, then we need to demonstrate great employee interaction. Employees are no different than children. Kids learn from their parents in the same way employees learn from those who lead them. When I see salespeople cutting corners and doing stupid stuff, I can almost always point to similar stupid behavior being displayed by management.
In case you’re wondering why I wound up in the consulting business, it was because of my inability to believe in the CEO and his team. We can never forget this phrase — People don’t quit companies; they quit managers.
Copyright 2017, Mark Hunter “The Sales Hunter.” Sales Motivation Blog. Mark Hunter is the author of High-Profit Prospecting: Powerful Strategies to Find the Best Leads and Drive Breakthrough Sales Results.
