If everybody is thinking alike, then somebody isn't thinking.

- General George S. Patton, Jr.

Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.

- Mark Twain

Calling all leaders! "Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others." ~ Jack Welch

Over the years I have concluded that there are two distinctive leadership qualities that are used. The first one is the active leader and the second is the passive leader. Both may very well be successful with the work they do each day in support of the company's success. However, the one big difference in these two leaders is that one is still primarily growing him/herself, and the other clearly understands success for him/her and the company is focusing on and developing others. 

To be a successful leader, understanding your leadership style is essential. What are your strengths, and what areas need improvement? Here is a leadership quiz that will help you learn more about your individual leadership traits. At the end of the quiz it will provide you with the major characteristics of your dominant style. Learning more about your personal leadership style will allow you to assess what qualities are helping or hindering you as a leader. 

The reason inclusion is so important is simple: When everyone matters and everyone knows he or she matters, employees are happy to come to work, and they're eager to give you their energy, creativity, and loyalty.  On the other hand, when people don't feel included, they become apathetic and perform at less than their full capacity.  To put it simply, all people want exactly what you want.  You want to be included, listened to, respected, and involved, don't you?  You want to be asked your opinion and have it taken seriously.  You want to feel valued.  And you want to be known as an individual and treated as such.  Well, so does everyone else.  That's why great leaders make sure that everyone in the workplace-no matter the rank or position-feels included and no one feels left out.

-Lee Cockerell, Creating Magic

Training can launch an ongoing strategy.  It can teach people service behaviors, empower them, reward their involvement, and initiate ongoing processes for building customer loyalty.  But company efforts must have legs.  The best interventions are ongoing and consistent, not disjointed special events.

- Dr. Paul R. Timm, Seven Power Strategies for Building Customer Loyalty

Beware the deadly pronoun: he, she, they, especially the infamous they and the power-gilded we.  Pronouns can send you into a quagmire of misunderstanding.  Every single day, it seems, I say to someone, "Too many pronouns."  During a negotiation, force your counterpart to use specific nouns and proper names.  This preventive measure avoids a great deal of miscommunication.

- Michael C. Donaldson, Negotiation for Dummies

I personally enjoyed our blog last week because the outcome was a GREAT customer service experience, where the associates went over and above to anticipate needs and deliver on surprises and delights. Shouldn't this be the norm? Why are so many service experiences disappointing? My theory ~ leadership is looking in the wrong direction. Too many businesses focus on sales and not so much on service. This is baffling to me because more sales come with better service. Randy Pennington says that in his experience, "Companies with bad service view it as a cost to be managed rather than an investment that creates a competitive advantage." I couldn't agree more.