Work on Flipping Your “M”!
Wednesday, November 15, 2017 - Joe Kiedinger
Good leaders don’t work alone. They know that extraordinary results don’t come from “me” but from “we”. I completely understand this logically, but I must admit, I say “me” and “my” more often then I wish to admit. Most of the time, I don’t even realize I’m doing it. My wife recently provided some insight on this.
We’ve hired an advisor to help us see our label (company) from outside the bottle. He asked me, “What would Danica say is your greatest weakness?” I explained, that it’s my use of language. I admit that I sometimes say “me” even though I completely understand it was “we” who built this company. I am but a small part of the bigger picture.
My wife, Danica, is a very thoughtful person. When the advisor asked her opinion on my language, she kindly said, “I get it.” She explained to him that my parents speak to me that way: “They say, ‘Joey’s house, Joey’s business and Joey’s stuff’. Joe has wonderful parents who built him up in everyday conversation. It’s a program that served him well as a young person but that he needs to become aware of and change.”
That blew me away. She never told me that before, especially in that way. It goes to show that talking with a third party brings out information in a new and digestible manner. What I’m saying is, although I know about Servant Leadership, I need to practice some more of the fundamentals!
Successful servant leaders are charged with creating collaborative opportunities across all areas of the company. They provide an environment that rewards employees for coming together and forging cooperative alliances that, in turn, produce greater outcomes than what had been realized before.
I’m getting after flipping my “M” to a “W”. I will make mistakes, but I will keep at it. My childhood programming, though perfect for my youth, needs to be converted to adult mode.
Joe Kiedinger
ACTION PLAN: Pick one thing to get after for the remainder of the year. What bad habits do you have? If you’re unsure, ask anyone you lead. Enjoy the journey!
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