{"id":25,"date":"2005-05-25T16:00:00","date_gmt":"2005-05-25T21:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.leadershipintherealworldblog.com\/?p=25"},"modified":"2005-05-25T16:00:00","modified_gmt":"2005-05-25T21:00:00","slug":"junk-food-leadership","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.leadershipintherealworldblog.com\/index.php\/2005\/05\/junk-food-leadership\/","title":{"rendered":"Junk Food Leadership"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a recent Horizon Time newsletter article<\/a> I told the story of a customer service wreck on a recent trip through the airport. Click here<\/a> to take a minute to read it.<\/p>\n

I assert that it all comes down to leadership. In this case, it was junk food leadership<\/em>. Let\u2019s break it down to learn some lessons that apply to customer service situations and beyond.<\/p>\n

Leaders Set the Tone<\/strong>
I consistently find that leaders set the tone. When I walked up to order my food, I noticed each of the order takers were rather sloppy in their dress. To a person, their clip-on ties were clipped but not tucked under the collar. Granted, in a culture where exposed underwear is considered fashion, perhaps this is the latest thing but it looked goofy to me. Their shirts were nearly untucked. In short, they looked sloppy.<\/p>\n

Before I even saw the manager, I could guess a description. Sure enough, when she came out, you could see the leader set the tone. Dressed similarly sloppy, multiple exposed tattoos, rough in tone and manner.<\/p>\n

NOTE: I\u2019m not saying we all need to look like either Barbie or Ken. I\u2019m also not condemning my tattooed readers. I am, however, saying that every decision we make about how we present ourselves is a statement\u2014to customers and to employees. <\/em><\/p>\n

This goes far beyond dress. Don\u2019t like how your team follows-up? How well do you<\/em> do it? Upset about your kids not putting their toys away? How are you at putting away yours<\/em>?<\/p>\n

Whether fair or not, people make judgments based on appearances and what they see modeled. Are you making the statements you want? Remember that the leader sets the tone.<\/p>\n

Be Specific When Correcting Behavior <\/strong>
When someone you are responsible for is having performance problems, it\u2019s worth asking the question, \u201cHave I made it clear what success looks like?\u201d<\/p>\n

I like to start by assuming innocence. Instead of ripping into the person, ask, \u201cWhy would a reasonable, rational person perform the way they are?\u201d This forces me to get away from assuming they\u2019re a lazy, incompetent bum.<\/p>\n

When talking to the person about the performance issue, be specific. This manager simply said, \u201cIt\u2019s your attitude!\u201d She clearly missed that the order taker didn\u2019t understand. Instead of using general terms like attitude, wouldn\u2019t it be better if she got more specific?<\/p>\n