We were both in our home offices and discussing leadership with the former CEO of a regional hospital in Indiana. I would have much rather been sitting across a table from him, but being in separate areas of the country prevented this.
We both were employed by the same organization, but I never had the opportunity to talk leadership with this leader. While talking I recognized he leads from a healthy foundation. We discussed the top three principles that guided him as a leader in the healthcare industry over multiple years.
Beware of Your Ego
Leadership expert John Maxwell discusses the five levels of leadership and when I provide leadership roundtables utilizing his book Developing the Leader Within You 2.0 we discuss these levels. The first level is positional leadership. As leaders we must be careful not to primarily lead from a posture of position because this will likely lead to more ego driven decisions.
Jonathan created checks in his life to help make sure his ego did not take charge. He surrounded himself with people who told him the truth. This may not have been what he wanted to hear, but what he needed to hear. Great leaders surround themselves with people who think differently who fill in their leadership gaps.
Words = Actions
Indiana winters are cold. Mr. Goble did something that may seem foolish for the CEO to do. He parked in the furthest corner of the parking lot.
As a leader he emphasized the importance of putting patients first. By parking in the furthest spot possible he modeled the values he promoted. If he parked closest to the door then it would be taking a valuable spot from a patient.
By parking in the back, his actions demonstrated this value and his employees could not justifiably complain to him about a long walk in the cold. He made sure he had the longest walk. As leaders we promote specific values and we must examine ourselves carefully to be certain our words match our actions. When they don’t admit it and make adjustments so we are in alignment.
KNOW Your People
“To lead others, you must be able to communicate well, and connecting is key.”
John C. Maxwell
Leadership is about working with people and as the leader Jonathan suggests we must know those we lead and not just what they do. This is connecting. A couple strategies that Jonathan suggested were:
Know people’s names. Do you know the name of the person who takes care of your trash? Even if you don’t know their name do you acknowledge each person and let them know you care about them as an individual?
Compliment in writing. One practice Mr. Goble used was mailing home written compliments to his employees. A written note alone is impactful, but when it goes home the family can celebrate with the employee the personalized recognition from the leader.
One of the biggest leadership lessons Jonathan learned was to listen more and talk less. He found that listening enabled him to lead more effectively and know his people better. When we know those we lead we will understand what motivates them and how to help them perform to their highest ability.
What about you? How are you doing in each of these areas? Do you need help in getting an accurate assessment of how your team feels you are doing? Maybe a Leadership Game experience would serve you and your team/organization well. Set your action step to grow as a leader today and reach the next level. Lead well.
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