Leadership Pause
In May we heard from our North Texas Sales Manager, Jeff Mills, about his journey to find the meaning of true leadership. Over the past few months, Jeff has celebrated successes, faced challenges, and continued to refine his leadership style. Keep reading for an updated perspective on his team, his style, and his goals for the second half of the year.
In my previous post I talked about my district’s theme for the year: through the Eyes of a Lion. Our district’s theme ties to our overall company theme to be bold, create magic, and ignite passion through our daily interactions with customers and vendors.
As we passed the midpoint of the year, I stepped back and took a leadership pause to celebrate the successes we have had as leaders in our market. As a leader, this time of year is perfect to sit down and spend a little extra time with my own mentor/coach and with my team members. In my conversations I asked myself, my manager, and my team what the next step is in the journey and to confirm we are on the right path to being great leaders.
This conversation wasn’t always easy because we weren’t always on track, but asking some tough questions helped guide the conversation and provide a path forward. Here are some of the questions I asked myself and my team:
- Did we accomplish everything we needed to accomplish in the first half of the year?
- Are the goals we set at the beginning of the year still in line with the company's goals?
- If our goals are not in line, what adjustments do we need to make to hit our targets?
- Are you reaching your personal goals for growth alongside our business goals?
I have certainly seen some impressive performance from my team. It is very important to me that everyone on my team reach their personal and business goals. I believe it is my job as a leader to ensure my team has every opportunity to succeed, and part of that is pausing to reflect on our past and adjust our path to the future. I believe it is a failure on my part if each one of my team members does not reach their full potential.
I can’t force my team members to believe in themselves, but I can motivate them through district meetings and one-on-one interaction. I believe consistently doing both activities promotes leadership and growth in my area. This interaction gives time to build a strong relationship and gain a better understanding of your people.
The summary of my advice ties to the rapidly approaching football season. Just like a head coach challenges his team before the game and re-energizes them at halftime, as a leader you must take time to challenge your team. Ask them this: Are you a first half only team, or can you come out after halftime energized and ready to take the field to make the year a remarkable success?
I plan to sit down with Bill Gilmore, my manager, mentor, and coach, and make sure we have a plan to finish strong and crush the goals FinishMaster set for the North Texas District.
Taking a pause can be an incredible tool for your team. Think about how many times in your own career at the halfway point of any year you took a mindful look at what you have accomplished and reset to make sure you hit your targets at the end of the year. Pause and take time with your teams to re-establish goals. Take the time personally to look at what you have done as a leader, what has worked, and what hasn't, and adjust for the second half. Taking a purposeful pause could be the key to a fresh start and ensure a great finish in 2017.