How can we improve the quality of life of the people around us?
My goal for the last five years has been to be a great leader to my team. As a manager in the hospitality industry, I am told that my goals are to create a great customer service experience while staying in the realms of my budget. Service scores need to be positive and we are tasked with creating memories and returning customers. While these stated goals are important for my company, they are not the reason I am excited to go to work every day. I am excited to teach my team something new or remove barriers that are slowing them down.
There are different leadership styles that I have worked with, some bad, some good, and even some that are great. Each time I was lucky enough to work for a great leader, I was thrilled to go to work and I was motivated to do my job to the best of my abilities and I was excited about what new skill or knowledge I would gain that day. My goal is to give my employees what they deserve, and that is a renewed daily excitement to go to work and fulfill their sense of accomplishment and desire to learn. I cannot feel a sense of accomplishment until my team feels a sense of accomplishment, and that sense of accomplishment comes in different forms for different team members.
I am my team’s manager, but I am definitely not their “boss”. I work for them just as much, if not more, than they work for me. We have clearly defined goals and together, we find the best way to accomplish those goals. This journey takes dedication and dedication always requires some sacrifice. For anyone that wants to be a great leader, this sacrifice is very likely worth it. If we all strive to make the lives of our employees better, I think we are enriching the lives of our families, customers and ourselves as well.
Servant Leadership 