By Ann McGee-Cooper, Ed.D.
Recently we had a request for a proposal on servant leadership, an introduction to executive leaders who were currently in a traditional hierarchical culture. As we got to the end of our call I explained that it is our custom to bring in a top leader from one of our legacy (long-term) Clients to help us review each new opportunity to participate inour decision as to whether this is a good fit for AMCA. What we have learned is that if we make the mistake of accepting a new Client that isn’t fully committed to grow and make the changes they must make to strengthen their culture, then the project will stumble. It is our practice to not allow a project to fail or fall short. This becomes an “all hands on deck” situation and often we call in special support from existing Clients. Many times they have enhanced credibility and specific industry experience that we don’t have so their participation is tremendously valuable. But we never want to misuseor squander this resource. So together we ask, is this the right thing to do in accepting this contract? Are we the best team to do this work? And is the Client prepared to grow and un-learn and be accountable to model new skills which will be critical for the success of the culture transformation they are hoping to make?
The good news is that when we have the buy-in and support for our long-term Clients who have been on the journey of growing leaderful teams and organizations for 40, 30, 20, 15 years, we have a cracker-jack team of unbeatable resources. But the key to all this is having the courage to sit down with prospective Clients and make sure they realize that their own commitment to their success is key and at least two other organizations will be in the boat with them making sure they do succeed. So we all must be convinced that our plan is the right plan before we do sign a contract. But what is even more important is the Covenant we make with each other to not stop until we have achieved the success we have visioned together.
We are so grateful to our legacy Clients for continuing to innovate with us, not just inside their own organizations and with their Clients but also by daring to reach out and participate with other Clients in other industries and lines of work. Our police officers have been extremely inspiring to Clients in the nuclear industry. And leaders from Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant have been a great asset to those in the construction field and health care. In fact, we continue to learn that bringing in leaders from completely different fields is a great asset. Our Partners in manufacturing and facilities management at TDIndustries are very helpful with some of our Clients in technology and those in the restaurant and airline business are extremely helpful when it comes to delivering memorable Customer Service.
We’ve all heard the phrase about “getting outside the box” and this is yet another way to leverage this strategy to increase creativity. We have amazing Legacy Partners for whom we are deeply grateful. And the more they help us succeed with new Clients, the deeper our commitment grows to insure their success! Synergy is never linear. The more you invest the more you get back. This is the secret of servant leadership and building from a foundation of mutual trust.
"Ann McGee-Cooper teaches us that 'work' and 'drudgery' are not synonymous. She shows how a job can be a source of fellowship, zest, pride, fun, and individual expression. If we follow her precepts, we will return home refreshed, not jaded, and inspired rather than debilitated, at the end of our 'fun day,' not our 'work day.' We will also collectively be a more productive, competitive, and healthy society. I believe in what she says."