When speaking to a group of leaders or entrepreneurs I often have them perform an exercise where they have to “sell me” on driving me to a particular destination. They all have one minute to make their case and they are against two competitors. The pitches are often humorous and identical to one another: they talk about themselves, why they are good to travel with, how fun they’ll make the trip, and so on. Most participants miss the mark by a country mile.
When faced with a tough, or time sensitive, decision it’s very common for a leader to focus on themselves. That’s a problem. No one wants to follow a leader, or buy from someone, they don’t feel has their best interest in mind.
Truly caring about others is a character trait. Character cannot be “trained.” Including a ‘character’ element into a mission statement, or within one’s core values, is not enough to instill it within a company’s culture. It must come through the actions and policies that are first lived out by those who are at the wheel. Caring about others is an emotion and emotions require action if they’re to be of value down the road.
If an employee and customer-centric culture is so important to success then how do we get there? Here are three (3) things I’m learning to use in order to develop a more caring corporate culture:
- Beware of the Attribution Bias. When individuals/organizations attribute successful outcomes to internal contributions (such as a great strategy) and attribute negative outcomes to external factors (such as the economy or competitors) we have applied attribution bias. This bias can lead to pride which takes away the focus on others. It’s important to remember that every talent, opportunity, and outcome has come to us by factors outside our control (or by graces we don’t understand) and they likely contributed to our success more than we realize.
- Our work cannot define us. Self-focused behaviour begins to take shape if our work is the main basis of our meaning and identity. Tim Keller, in his great book Every Good Endeavor, asks a very insightful question: Is work a way to distinguish ourselves from others and to show the world and prove to ourselves that we’re special? Separating one’s entrepreneurial identity from our work is hard but it’s critical in order to stay focused on the right things in life.
- Remember why we started. Almost every story of a business or organization began as a way to fulfill a need in the market. At the beginning, a company is small and values its customers and employees in a powerful way. Embracing those times, telling stories and showing photographs about the first customers can keep everyone in touch with the organization’s humble beginnings. Helping people is usually the intent of a successful business so let’s always aim to reconnect with that sentiment.
There are many other ways to develop caring character as it’s a never-ending journey to become better people every day but I thought I’d share a few of the insights I’m wrestling with these days. The goal is to put into practice the actions, policies and procedures that will lead to a culture that embraces it to the core. I wish you great success as you steer your organization towards success.
Have a great day!
– Braden