Can You Be Great?

This week's blog post comes from Scott Peterson.

Can you be great?

 

You Betcha!!  Absolutely!!  Without a Doubt!! 

I hope that is clear enough. I believe this is true because of one of my favorite quotes. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, "Everyone can be great because everyone can serve." I love this quote because it helps me keep my priorities straight.   

The foundation of great leadership is about focus. When you focus on serving your teams and the people that you care about, good things will happen. What does it mean to serve those people? I can't answer that question perfectly, but here are a couple of ideas: 

1. Get to know your team and what they need (which is often different than what they want).   
2. Give them feedback, direction, and share the “why” with them (this helps them feel connected to the big picture).
3. Listen. It sounds really easy, but it can be a tough thing to do, so keep practicing this.  
4. Show them that you care. You've probably heard this quote, "People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care." (John Maxwell)  This is so true, and it's a great reminder when you're thinking of how you can serve others. 

Overall, I have found that the better I serve the people around me, the better I lead. When I lose that focus, I make mistakes in leading. The right focus allows me to have a positive impact on people, teams, and organizations that are important to me. I hope it helps you too.  

Take two minutes and share a couple of ideas on how we can serve our teams and lead the Interstates way together. 

 

Continue Leading the Interstates Way!

Scott Peterson