I was sitting across the table from a woman who feels called to serve the elderly. I don’t have time to go into her story, but Jan Pegues who is Executive Director for 5 Star Residences in Noblesville, Indiana had an experience early in her life that gave her a passion to provide care to elderly in a manner that provides dignity and respect to them.
While we sat in her office, I learned her three keys to leadership. This is what she said:
Maybe you are familiar with the Golden Rule: Do to others as you would have them do to you. This is the foundation of Mrs. Peques treatment others. She consciously strives to treat her employees like adults and not talk down to them. For example, if staff approaches her after listening she will respectfully redirect them to their direct supervisor in order to maintain a healthy culture of respect and communication.
Jan also increases respect among those she leads by creating an atmosphere where feedback and initiative are welcome. First, when constructing a plan, she will ask for her teams input in order to open the conversation and receive various perspectives. Also, when her staff encounters problems she encourages them to bring solutions to discuss. Both practices create an atmosphere of mutual professional respect.
Fairness
Any leader understands this concept is a challenge because the leader wants to avoid creating any perception of showing favoritism. Jan’s goal is to be consistent in not showing favoritism, so we explored this idea a little deeper.
When we discussed this further, she clarified that she works with people differently, but treats them the same. A new employee will have the same expectations as a senior employee, but the newer or less experienced leader will receive more of her time. This time is spent coaching the leader and equipping him or her to lead effectively.
Work Ethic
Jan is a woman who exemplifies this principle by leading among the people she serves and modeling the work ethic she expects. As a leader she believes you must be in the “trenches” with your team and willing to do what you ask of them. This example helps create a culture of respect in her organization.
This principle applies in all industries because the ability to exemplify what we expect of others is critical. Imagine a sport coach who asks his or her players to do sprints. They will because that is what is expected of them, but if the coach runs with them the effort increases dramatically. Why does this happen? Because of the example. Whether at work or at home what we do demonstrates what we expect.
What about you? When you are leading how are you performing in these three areas? What is one way you can grow your leadership in any of these areas? Share your thoughts below. Lead Well.
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