A Moment to
Connect
by Lee J.
Colan, Ph.D.
(This report is an excerpt from the book
"7
Moments...That Define Excellent Leaders".)
How often do you hear people speak with
envy about companies with “real heart”? Companies like
Starbucks, Ben and Jerry’s, Southwest Airlines, Harley-Davidson,
Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Nordstrom, FedEx and Saturn to name a
few.
Outsiders are constantly looking for their
“secrets” to success. The secret lies in the hearts of their
employees… working together. Nothing we achieve in this world
is achieved alone. It is always achieved with others helping us
along the way.
That’s the funny thing about
interpersonal connections – such intangible things that yield
tangible results. I recently had the opportunity to observe
a tangible benefit of a connected team. I was touring the
distribution operation of a national retailer who is well known
for building highly connected teams of employees. As my host
and I approached the receiving dock, I saw a young worker, maybe
20 years old, waving frantically to the truck that was just
pulling away from the dock. He got the driver’s attention and
waved him back to the dock. Then he quickly grabbed a broom and
swept out the floor of the rig, then just as frantically waved
the driver off as he yelled, “OK, you’re good to go. Thanks!”
Since I was there observing their work
processes, this intrigued me so I approached the young receiving
clerk and introduced myself. I asked Lance to describe what had
just happened. As he puffed, he said, “Well, that truck is
headed to our main store where one of my teammates, Ross, is
doing a rotation. Ross has a new baby at home and has had a
tough few months, plus he just started this new rotation and
he’s learning the procedures on the store side. Anyway, I just
wanted to make it a little easier for him when the truck
arrived. This way, you know, he won’t have to sweep out the
truck on his end.”
Now, that’s the power of a connected team!
This seemly extraordinary act of service by Lance is actually
the norm at this company because its leaders have taken the time
to build connected teams. They do it because they, like other
excellence leaders, believe it’s the right thing to do. As a
byproduct, these connections yield discretionary effort –
employees willingly giving their extra time and effort to
achieve team goals.
Want results tomorrow? Connect with
someone today!
Copyright © 2006-2008 by Lee J. Colan and The L
Group, Inc.
Return to Back Issues
