Best Advice – Part 1

Today I am answering another question: “What is your best advice when it comes to work.”

The list below is not exhaustive…just some of the principles I tried to follow as an employee and a manager. 

I have had some great bosses and co-workers through the years and I have learned something from most of them. So here goes, in no particular order.

LEADERSHIP IS NOT A TITLE, and you can lead from any position in an organization. People don’t magically become leaders because of a job description or title.

SHOW UP EARLY. If your work day starts at 8, arriving at 8 is late. 

A LEADER SERVES. If there is a project that requires the team to work weekends, be there and do the dirtiest job on the list. A good leader serves his team rather than expecting them to serve him or her.

DON’T TAKE CREDIT FOR THE WINS BUT BE WILLING TO ACCEPT BLAME FOR THE LOSSES. More accurately, adopt an attitude of not caring who gets the win, and congratulate your team. Guide your team to making good decisions rather than making them for them.

IF A CUSTOMER ASKS IF YOU CAN DO IT, SAY YES AND FIGURE IT OUT. I learned this from Tony, a former friend and business partner. He always said, “if somebody else can do it, so can I.” It has scared me at times, but being stretched and growing makes you better and breaks you out from the crowd. (Caveat: only do this if it is in your wheelhouse. If you run a bakery, and they want you to replace a transmission…well, this is not what I mean.)

YOU CAN’T WIN ON THE AIR IF YOU DON’T FIRST WIN IN THE HALLWAYS. If the culture in our building is toxic and our team is fighting and not moving in the same direction, our listeners will hear it and our product will suffer. I believe this to be true in any industry. You may be able to sustain it for a while, but not long term.

MISSION FIRST AND ALWAYS. Your mission should be written and agreed upon by your team, and then held up as the filter through which every decision is made. If it doesn’t fit your mission, don’t do it. Even if it is a good thing. Every person on your team should be able to recite your mission statement.

HIRE THE CHARACTER AND TEACH THE SKILL rather than the other way around. I can teach someone how to raise funds or operate a soundboard. I can’t teach them to be a decent human being.

CHARACTER, CHEMISTRY AND COMPETENCY are the three considerations when hiring a new employee. And I rank them in that order. Do they have good moral character? Will they fit in with our people and share our vision? And do they have experience, or the competency, to do the job? 

HIRE SLOW. FIRE FAST. Making the wrong hire is worse than having an open position for an extended period of time. I have done it. And once you know that an employee needs to go, don’t delay the inevitable. It won’t get better.

PICK UP THE TRASH. See a piece of paper in the parking lot. Pick it up. Light bulb in the hallway burned out? Replace it. It speaks volumes.

CATCH PEOPLE DOING SOMETHING RIGHT. The world beats us all down and that includes your employees and co-workers. A word of encouragement goes a long way. This is especially important with your front line people who are selling. They hear the word NO over and over, and the last thing they need to hear when they come back to the office is NO. Go out of your way to encourage them.