When we think about the importance of designing a great customer experience, it’s easy to get hyper-focused on the frontline staff. This makes sense because these employees are the ones with whom the customers will be interacting the most, whether they are the servers at restaurants, cashiers at retail stores, or salespeople in showrooms. But this is an incomplete picture, as we need to also consider how to put our employees in a position to succeed before we can accomplish anything else.
In Simon Sinek’s video about building trusting teams, he cites an example of how much leadership and environment impact an employee’s ability to do a great job. In his example, he mentions a gentleman by the name of Noah, a barista working at the Four Seasons. Sinek describes Noah as being funny, engaging, and charming, and that Sinek spent far too long there buying his cup of coffee because he so enjoyed talking to Noah. During the course of their conversation, Sinek asked Noah if he likes his job, to which the young man replied, “I love my job.” When asked to explain why, Noah said that managers pass by him throughout the day to ask him how he’s doing and whether he needs anything to do his job better. Not just his manager specifically, any manager.
He contrasted this by explaining he also works as a barista at Caesar’s Palace, and it’s a totally different environment. When managers walk by there, they on the lookout to catch employees when they’re doing things wrong, and they try to make sure they’re making their numbers and performing. There, Noah concludes, he just tries to keep his head down and make it through the day.
Where do you think Noah gives the best customer experience? The place where he can feel free to be himself, or the one where he’s just trying to get through his shift and collect his paycheck? Think about that: same person at two different establishments, but a radically different customer experience. If it’s the same employee, what’s the difference? The leadership, of course.
Sinek explains that managers mistakenly think they have to get the most out of people, when it’s really about setting their people up to be their best. In order to do that, those employees need a trusting environment, one where they can be honest if they’re struggling, admit when they don’t understand something, or even confess to dealing with personal problems. Otherwise, they’ll just fake it and say nothing, for fear of ending up on someone’s short list for the next round of layoffs.
When this happens, everyone suffers. The company, the customer, and the employee. An environment of fear or mistrust will eventually breed consequences, as well. Consider this other example: Sinek reminds us of an incident that happened on a United Airlines flight in which a passenger was forcibly removed from the plane, but not before he suffered a broken nose, broken teeth, and a concussion. Sinek says, “I feel sorry for every single member of that crew because one-hundred percent of them knew that that was the wrong thing to do, but none of them spoke up. None of them intervened because they’re feared getting in trouble more than doing the right thing. They did not work on trusting teams. This was not an anomaly; this was a steady build over the course of years that eventually culminated in an event like that.” Of course, this is an extreme example, but we have to consider the long-term consequences of a negative work environment such as that.
Building a trusting team is a challenging process that takes dedication. Sinek likens it to getting into good physical shape. It’s not something you can do all at once—it’s not like you can just go to the gym and work out for nine hours and walk out in-shape. But if you were to go for twenty minutes a day without fail, and you eat right, then you will eventually and definitely get into shape. How long will that take? Each person is different. There’s no exact formula. You just have to do the work.
It works the exact same way in building a trusting team. This will not just happen because you send your employees and leaders to the right training seminar, or have them do the right trust-building exercises. Those help and are important, but this isn’t going to happen instantly. It’s a process.
In the end, we have to remember that leadership is not about being in charge: it’s about taking care of the people in your charge. Consequently, leaders are not responsible for results: they’re responsible for the people who are responsible for the results. And you just have to stick with it. Much like staying in shape, leadership is a lifestyle. You have to keep going to the gym and eating right for the rest of your life if you want to stay that way.
[And we can help with that.1 The Brandt Group specializes in both the customer experience as well as leadership development. We believe these two go hand-in-hand, that without a well-trained and well-supported staff, you cannot foster the kind of environment that is necessary for great customer service. As Sinek concludes, you’re going to end up with a Noah either way. But which Noah? The one who can be himself and is a delight to his customers, or the one who’s afraid and just trying to punch the clock?
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