Positive Leadership

December 15th, 2008 Posted in Leadership, Newsletter, Teamwork

In a world driven by numbers, outcomes and short term results building a positive, successful organization requires leaders like you and me to borrow a page from the playbook of John Wooden, the legendary UCLA basketball coach. Even though John Wooden was more competitive and wanted to win more than any leader I’ve ever met, he ironically never focused on winning, numbers or outcomes. Instead he focused on the process of empowering his players to be the best they could be. He focused on the culture of his team, the character of his players, winning teamwork, fundamentals and daily improvement. As a result he won a lot.

The same principles apply to the business world. While you have to measure outcomes and results you do so with the knowledge that the outcome is simply a by-product of your culture, teamwork, vision, talent, innovation, execution and commitment to your people and process. After all, it’s not the numbers that drive the people but the people that drive the numbers.

To win you must win with people. Running over people will only get you so far. To create true and lasting success you must invite the right people on your bus, take the time to invest in them, develop them, nurture them and when you help them grow they’ll help you grow.

It’s a simple truth. When you care about your employees and the people you work with they are more likely to stay on the bus and work harder, with more loyalty and greater positive energy. In turn they are more likely to share their positive energy with your customers enhancing service and the bottom line.

That’s why I say the greatest customer service strategy has nothing to do with customer service but rather it has everything to do with how you treat your employees. If you treat them well they will treat the customer well.

It all starts with a decision to be a positive leader and the understanding that leadership is not just about what you do but what you can inspire, encourage and empower others to do. When you are a positive leader you bring out the best within each of your employees by sharing the best within you. Instead of running over the people in your organization you invite them on the bus with you and empower them to help you create an amazing and successful ride.

Do you know someone who is a positive leader? What makes them a positive leader? Share your thoughts on by clicking here.

Download and share these positive leadership resources:
The Positive Business Manifesto
10 Thoughts About Leadership Poster

Stay Positive!
-Jon

www.JonGordon.com
www.TheEnergyBus.com
www.NoComplainingRule.com

Tags: , , ,

  1. 8 Responses to “Positive Leadership”

  2. By Fitu Papu on Dec 15, 2008

    hello jon.

    i’ve been inspired by your outspoken message on positive leadership. it is true how everything begins with us if we were to lead a group of individuals. not only that, a positive leader does not focus so much on winning, numbers or outcomes, but on developing the people to become the best that they can be.

    i’ve had a man, a mentor, and a Christian missionary who i’ve looked up as my pivotal influence for the past 5 years. he inspired me to love others despite of the wrong they’ve done on me. he believed in people and what they are capable of doing. he encouraged me at times to not give up on my dreams. he invested as much time he could muster up in me to see me fufilled my goals. but it wasn’t his encouragement that stood out for me–his life emanated as a worthy model for everyone to see and follow. when he spoke, his actions backed it up–he wouldn’t say anything he hadn’t done yet. he stayed true to his word lest he misled some folks. he was truly a man of integrity.

    presently, he is no longer with us, but his footsteps are evident in the lives of people as they live on, including me. i thank God for such a worthy vessel who made a positive influence upon me and those that were with him.

    things may seem tawdry and temporary in life as the departure of such person with great influence on people, but what he left appears to perpetuate in their hearts as is evident in their approach to other people, how they live their lives, and the desire to draw people in the fellowship to experience the goodness of God.

  3. By Jesse Carbo on Dec 15, 2008

    Mr. Gordon,

    I recently began the process of planting a church in central florida just next to Disney. This can prove to be a challenging process but your book “The Energy Bus” was a huge inspiration to me and my wife. I am working on getting others on the bus. As for this recent article, I love the encouragement to invest into people, help them grow, and they will help your organization grow. When my wife and I made the final decision to make the leap to move and plant a church we could have done this alone or we could have done it in team. We have been blessed to have 25 people move with us to this area and help us. Now, my role is to fuel the ride with my enthusiasm for Vision that God has given me for this area. Thanks for all you do. God Bless.

  4. By Judy on Dec 15, 2008

    One of the marks of a positive leader is one who lets others shine. They make sure that the folks who do the work or have the ideas get the credit. They also know how to get that one person who has good ideas, but is quiet to open. Positive leaders also make sure that if someone, or something fails, there is a positive spin to it and humiliation is kept to a minimum.

  5. By Charles Boyer on Dec 15, 2008

    Jon,
    I like to think of leadership in the context of an orchestra conductor who makes no sound him/herself, but brings forth music through the talents of others in the ensemble. Being a good “people conductor” is essential to being a great leader.

  6. By Scott on Dec 16, 2008

    Brian is the most amazing person i have ever met…i strive to be half the person he is. He has such a positive attitude about everything even when things are bad. He has taught me so much about life and how to handle things. He is one of my life friends and you don’t get those very often. It started with big brothers big sisters but he has made it way more then that. The one person in my life i can count on to always be there is Brian and i love him for that. I’ve just been thinking about all the people important to me and i feel like i have never really told him how important he is in my life. I’m so lucky to have him as a friend. Really Brian is more then just a friend to me he’s like a brother. Even though we are both going through hard times right now but i know he is keeping his head up and knows he’s got me on his side… it feels good to know that he will always be there…

  7. By Wally Bock on Dec 17, 2008

    Congratulations! I chose this post as one of the top five posts from the business blogs for this week on my Midweek Look at the Business Blogs. You can check out my comments on this and the other four posts at

    http://blog.threestarleadership.com/2008/12/17/121708-midweek-look-at-the-business-blogs.aspx

    Wally Bock

  8. By Jon Gordon on Dec 17, 2008

    Charles, I love your analogy. One of the best i have ever heard.

    Jesse, May God Bless your ministry and the great work you are doing in Orlando.

    Fitu Paper, I was really touched by what you wrote about the amazing person that influenced you. thank you.

  9. By Donna Sperlunto on Dec 19, 2008

    My positive leader is my sister Carmella. She has taught me so much, different ways to handle things and how to be a go-getter. To surround myself with positive people. To envision the end goal. Is there every really an end goal?

Post a Comment

*
To prove you're a person (not a spam script), type the security word shown in the picture. Click on the picture to hear an audio file of the word.
Click to hear an audio file of the anti-spam word