I have been part of a group lately going through the book FOR by Jeff Henderson. Jeff has been a leader both in business and in the faith community. In March I had the opportunity to learn from him at our last virtual International Maxwell Certification event.
Since I have been trying to give you a glimpse into a different book each month, I thought I’d share some key principles from this one.
In a world where the temptation is to express our views of what we are against in multiple forums what would happen if we instead expressed what positive things we are for? What if we shift in such a way that it draws people to us instead of dividing and isolating? Allow me to share a thought and two questions to ponder on FOR your leadership.
Be Their Fan
In the book Henderson describes how Lowes has 600,000 followers on Instagram, but at the time he wrote the book, the most likes they have had on a single post was 3,500. He compares this to a company called Chubbies who has 400,000 followers on the same platform and had one post with 16,000 likes. What caused this difference?
Engagement and relationship. Instead of making their posts all about their organization they strive to be FOR the people who follow them. A company implementing this idea intentionally follows and interacts with the people who follow them. This idea has stretched my thinking since social media can take time with minimal return. What if we genuinely took time to positively engage with those who we or our business are connected with?
Question One
At the core of this book are two critical questions we all need to process. These questions help us get to the foundation of what is truly important to us.
“What do we want to be known FOR?”
As an organization, team, or individual what is really important to us? When I think of Chick-fil-A, community, quality, and faith are the words that define what they are for. Henderson discussed how the church he was a part of starting made it a priority that they were known to be FOR their community and they would seek to serve the community. One example was by bringing awareness and people to a rarely used community amphitheater.
Question Two
“What are we known FOR?”
This is a similar, but different question from the first one. This is where we are asking what others say we are for. For example, I may say I am for eating healthy, but if every time you see me I am eating ice cream you would say I’m for desserts!
In order to answer this question, we must look objectively at our organization, team, family or ourselves. We may have to gather feedback from others to get an accurate picture. As we answer these two questions, we will notice gaps that need to be addressed.
What do you need to change in how you engage with your customers, team, friends, or those you influence? What are your answers to these two questions? Need help thinking into it then contact me for a no cost thinking partner session. Take time today to think into what you are FOR so you can lead at a higher, more purposeful level. Lead Well.
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