By Stuart Cohen, MCC, StuartLloydCohen.com, and member of The Travel Institute’s Professional Educators Program.
Are you a business leader? You’re in a position of influence. Have you considered if it is positive or negative? Your leadership style drives very measurable results. Here’s how.
Strong, positive leadership creates a culture of strong performance and productivity. The outcome? Staff turnover is lower and customer loyalty is higher.
Weak, negative leadership creates a culture of complacency and mediocrity. The outcome? Weak performance and productivity. Staff turnover is higher and customer loyalty is lower.
The leadership style you choose determines if you will have a profoundly positive or negative influence on staff, independent contractors, and customers.
Weak leadership is the greatest gift we give to competitors. Weak leadership is an aversion for employees,
Where are you on my ‘Leader-Meter’?
My top pick for travel industry leaders is servant-style. The servant leader focuses on empowering employees, deputizing others to take ownership, and encouraging innovation.
To know where you stand on my Leader-Meter, consider these five questions:
1. Do you favor POSITIONAL POWER or PERSONAL POWER?
Fancy positional titles can be temporary. Your influence will be stronger and sustainable when it is achieved personally. Personal influence is typically an authentic part of your personality. Be the true-you.
2. Are you MASTER or SERVANT?
Masters are not automatically stronger leaders, even though they perceive themselves as being higher up. When we are talked down to by a leader, they are hard to look up to! Strong leaders don’t position themselves as the supreme ruler.
3. Do you act SELFISH or SELFLESS?
Servant Leaders nourish to flourish. They sincerely desire others to succeed – making head and heart choices that break the ice of the impersonal, uncaring corporate culture. Servant Leaders check their EGO at the door! They know it is best to give, to get.
“When ego and pride become the driving force in your leadership decisions, they render you ineffective.” – Ken Blanchard
4. Are you COMPLACENT or a CATALYST?
Servant Leaders offer solutions over complaints. They choose not to be a part of the problem, but to generate ideas that remedy. To be a catalyst, remember to bring your brains to work!
5. Do people FEAR YOU or TRUST YOU?
Authentic Servant Leadership is built on trust. Because we can’t persuade others to trust us, we demonstrate trustworthiness through our actions. Leaders who rely on fear to drive performance believe that intimidation is the secret to strong leadership. Servant Leaders favor affirmation over intimidation and have more success inspiring performance.
To create a culture of stronger performance and productivity, choose to be a powerfully positive influencer. Being authentically interested in helping others be their best at work, home, and in the community is servant-style at its best! You’ll love the results – and so will everyone else.
