As I sat in his office I could tell there was a reason he owned multiple car repair shops. Instead of books on one of his bookshelves there were classic toy cars. I was sitting in the office of a man who had gone from owning one Meineke store to six within seven years.
This is no small task so I wanted to learn from him about leadership, specifically how to lead well as you are growing your business. We talked about multiple aspects of his business such as the change in thinking that needed to occur going from one store to three and how he had to let go of trying to control everything or he would hinder the organization’s growth. The has realized more he grows the more critical it is that he empowers key people.
When I asked what that looks like he said: “Know when 80% is good enough.” For a leader someone else may not do it 100% as well as you, but if they do it 80% as well and meet the goals then you are freeing yourself to lead more. Not only that, but you are helping the employee develop their leadership skills as they grow and close that gap between 80% and 100%.
Below are Scott’s three keys to leadership for his organization:
- Higher standards than those you hire. This does not mean you look for low standards, but as the leader you should constantly be raising the bar on what you expect of yourself and those you lead. As I heard this it demonstrates leadership expert John Maxwell’s “Law of the Lid” which states your effectiveness can be no greater than your leadership level. If as leaders we accept mediocre work then those who follow us will work below that level and those that expect more than the leader expects will leave.
- Integrity and Personal Responsibility. In an industry where it can be the norm to be less than completely truthful Scott expects himself and his employees to accept responsibility for actions and be consistent between actions and words. A very practical way he tries to demonstrate this integrity is how he sets up his shops. If at all possible he will make the facility feel open and even provide windows so customers can see in the work space.
- This was not explicitly stated by Scott, but I saw it as a method to develop the second value. He shared about times that work has been not done completely right and says he accepts the blame first by stating “what can I do to help this not happen?” and often his employees will take ownership for their part in the problem as well. After this they fix the problem, learn and grow. In order to build trust both with employees and customers, he expects transparent communication. Scott models this to his employees by confronting issues that need to be addressed internally in a manner that still respects his employees.
- Setting up Infrastructure. Since he works in an environment where equipment working properly is critical this is a high priority in his leadership. As the leader he feels a responsibility to create a physical environment that enables his employees to work effectively and efficiently and does not want his lack of resourcing them to create unnecessary challenges for them. As I listened, this is similar to the responsibility other leaders have to establish systems and processes for effective work and communication.
What about you? As you look at leading your team, organization or home how are you doing in these areas? Are you frustrated with the standards those you lead are living at . . . is it because you have allowed your standards to slip? Are you willing to accept responsibility and model humility and integrity? How do you need to improve your infrastructure to improve your results? Wherever you need to grow, take the first step today and lead well at work and home.
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