Improving as a Leader

The title of my blog is Learning, Improving, Evolving. I gave it that title for a reason. That’s what I want to represent. That’s the person I want to be. For too long I was content just to exist. To be the same person year in and year out. I want to constantly improve. Learn from my experiences and improve. Evolve into a better version of myself.

One of the major areas I’ve tried to do this in is leadership.

For a long time, I had a very bad conception of what a leader was. I looked at a leader as a boss. The person who told other people what to do. That had reached a certain level and didn’t have to do the hard work anymore. They got to sit back while others do the hard work. As I got older that started to change. It really started to change when I met one man.

In 2016 I left a job with a family business to get out on my own. At that new job I met a man who was my supervisor and later became a mentor, close friend and father figure. From the beginning I was drawn to him because of how he handled people. He never raised his voice unless he absolutely had too. He took the time to get to know all our employees where they felt like he genuinely cared about them. Everyday when he came in, he greeted every single person in the office before going into his own office and going to work.

He also had the strongest work ethic of anyone in our company. He was 65 years old. More than 30 years older than me and on many occasions, he worked circles around me. Whatever needed to be done he did it. He ran routes in trucks. He worked dispatch. He managed our docks. Even if it meant working all night. On many occasions he would work all night and be right back at the office by 8 or 9 am to start his day as the Regional Vice President of our company. He was a machine.

When he promoted me to the head of our Texas operations, I set out to emulate as much as I could. I tried to work just as hard as he did. I covered routes. I worked dispatch. I worked more than anyone. Hell, I even spent nights at my office on more than one occasion so I could do what needed to be done. I did that to set the example. To show our staff we do whatever needs to be done.

If I had to identify an area where I was as successful it was in my people skills. I had good moments, but I wasn’t on his level. I’m a little more hot-headed in nature. I’m a little blunter and to the point. I don’t always think of other feelings when I talk to them. That caused friction between me and my staff at times.

When I left that job, I told myself that was an area I wanted to improve before the next time I was put in a leadership role. Recently that was put to a test.

On a recent work trip, I was helping at a facility in Oklahoma City. The manager in charge there is a female. Shortly after I arrived on my first day, she looked at me and said “Why did he send you up here? Does he think I can’t handle it?”  I had to make a very quick decision of how to react. My snap judgement in the moment was to say, “I don’t know probably.” If I did that she would have been pissed at our boss and she would have had friction with me.

I chose to try to show her support. I wanted her to feel like I was there to help. There because what she was being asked of was too much and anyone would need help. That it had nothing to do with her. I needed to work with her and not work at cross purposes. I’ve tried to do everything by myself before and it sucks. You eventually burn out and it’s not good. Working as a part of a team helps everyone. Your operation functions more efficiently.

What I’m learning is that a major part of being a good leader is almost being a psychologist. You need to read your team members and learn quickly how they respond best. Some people need an ass chewing or a stern leader who gets right to the point. Some people need someone to understand and empathize. Some people need a partner and teammate.

My vision of a leader has changed drastically in the last few years. I now look at a leader as someone who inspires those around them. That can be through work ethic or that can be through relationships and personal interaction. There are many ways.

I want to improve in as many ways as I can. So, I can evolve into a better leader. A leader that inspires those around me to be better workers and more importantly better people. That’s what my mentor did for me. That’s what I want do for other people.