FROM GOOD TO GREAT – PART 1

I thought that I would end this year with some stuff that everyone could benefit from. I am honored and humbled to be given this platform each week to bring you information (usually dental in nature). This column and the next may not be “dental” per se, but it is in the sense that it pertains to every business, every employer, and every employee on the planet.

I recently finished re-reading a classic book called “Good to Great: Why some companies make the leap…..and others don’t”, by Jim Collins. No matter what business you are in, whether it is a garage or a dental practice, there are distinct things that separate the average from the great. Number One: a great leader.

Being a great leader is a gift, and for those of us who are not born with that gift, it is a life-long journey to improve our leadership. If you don’t work on improving your leadership, you will always remain average.

So, what are the qualities of a great leader? The first is the ability to deal with the unknown. Leaders must have the courage to go first. Even though the path is not clearly marked, leaders must venture into unexplored territory, search for the new opportunities, and accept the risk of vulnerability.

A leader must define and model core values. The most important question that leaders must answer is: what do we believe in? The answer defines the core values that become the foundation of the business. They drive everything that the business does. The tough part comes next. Leaders must act congruently with these values and demonstrate them in everything they say and do. An even tougher moment comes when a business’ values are tested by the market place. The easy short-term solution may be to abandon these values. However, doing so can have a powerfully negative long-term effect.

A leader attracts and retains employees. This means that leaders must establish a business climate that attracts and retains the finest people available. Increasingly, it is the worker-friendly business that creates a climate of trust, in which employees value their jobs and offer their deepest levels of support and commitment.

Worker-friendly is not just about wages and benefits. It is much more than that. The old-style management days of “command and control” are over. They have been replaced by a style of leadership that places a premium on the leader’s ability to “communicate and influence.”

Of course people want to know how to do their jobs. But today’s exceptional employees also want to know why they are doing them. They want their leaders to answer the question, Why are we in business? The answer to this question energizes a business and its people with a sense of purpose. With purpose comes fulfillment, and from fulfillment comes commitment.

In these circumstances, employees don’t just work for a business. They belong to one. They become members, and with membership comes the most powerful form of ownership – psychological ownership. In effect, the employee becomes a shareholder, and commitment takes on a deeper meaning.

To be continued next week…….