While visiting my mother in Arizona recently, I had the opportunity to have dinner in the dining room at the Independent Living Facility where she resides. Now, don’t get me wrong … they do a lot of things right at this facility and Mom appears to be very happy there. But, I saw a lot of things in the dining room that, in my mind, were like dragging fingernails across a chalkboard.

I watched the server hand one of the residents a spoon with her thumb squarely in the middle of the “business end” of the spoon; saw another server cover a soiled and stained table cloth with napkins rather than replacing it with a clean one. At a table designed to accommodate six people, I witnessed a party of three being served their dinner while dirty dishes from the six diners who had previously been served at the table were stacked at the far end of the table. Having worked in the restaurant industry while I attended college, I knew that these behaviors were not proper food service etiquette. Some discreet inquiries revealed the underlying problem … new servers received minimal training. Basically, they were assigned to a “veteran” who was told to “show ’em how we do things”.

Great Leaders recognize that in order to have those who follow them provide great customer service, they must make certain that those followers know what great service looks like. This requires training! How do Great Leaders provide great training?

• When classroom training is delivered, Great Leaders make sure the training is fun, interactive, and memorable – No one wants to sit in a chair all day and listen to the teacher drone on and on. They want to be on their feet doing something. They want to be a part of the program, not an attendee but rather a participant. At the end of the day, they want to walk out the door thinking, “I’m glad I came … I learned things I can really use to make my customer/client happy; and, I had fun doing it.
• Great Leaders include what has been called “Field Training” – While classroom training may provide the textbook “how to’s”, practical application is where the new skills become ingrained habits. This is also where mentoring comes into play. The person who is being trained works closely with, or “shadows”, a person who can demonstrate the proper execution of the skills; then, the field trainer watches the person who is being trained perform the same skills and coaches him/her in techniques that enable him/her to become more skillful.
• Finally, they make certain that those who are doing the training are the best at what they do – The trainers do the job right and provide the best examples for others to emulate. They pass along the “best practices” of whatever skill they are teaching. They are professional and are lifelong learners who are always working at upgrading their own skills in order to continue to be “the best of the best”.

Tom Hoisington is a speaker, trainer, and author whose goal is to provide leaders and potential leaders with tools that empower them to build teams that are creative and cost effective along with a clearer understanding of how personality types interact within those teams. He can be contacted at [email protected]

History provides us with some interesting perspectives regarding what makes a leader. John Quincy Adams, sixth President of the United States and the first former President to be elected to Congress after having served in the Presidency, wrote,

“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.”

With these words, Adams clearly articulated that any person could be a leader. It was not necessary that the individual hold a specific job, complete a specific course of study, or hold an elected office. Rather, any individual who, through his or her actions, words or thoughts, caused another individual to become more than he or she was, had in fact become a leader who had earned a follower.

Interestingly, not all leaders embrace their leadership roles. Many downplay the leadership role that they have played in the lives of others. Some do this out of modesty. Others do it because they truly believe that the “follower” would have taken those actions on their own.

Great Leaders influence those around them; at times they do so knowingly and at other times with no conscious thought or effort. They exert their leadership through their words and deeds; by the examples and lessons that they provide. Think back on those who have influenced your life. Did they do so deliberately; or, was it simply by the way they lived their lives that caused you to think, “I want to be like them” or “I want to change the way I am or what I do”?

Are you a Great Leader? Do you have the potential to be a Great Leader? The answer may surprise you.

Tom Hoisington is a speaker, trainer, and author whose goal is to provide leaders and potential leaders with tools that empower them to build teams that are creative and cost effective along with a clearer understanding of how personality types interact within those teams. He can be contacted at [email protected]