Celebrating PCI’s Inspiring Transformation into a Servant-Led Culture and Awesome Hospitality!
We are still soaring with excitement from our visit to PCI last Friday! We thank Drew Clancy, Tom Lyons, Deborah Dale, Rex Petrasko, and the ENTIRE PCI Team for opening their doors to our SLLC group and hosting a remarkable session. The high-energy throughout the entire office was contagious and great examples of servant leadership were so apparent throughout the whole morning. Huge thanks to all the PCI Team for graciously hosting fun tours throughout the office.
“Focus on You”
Thanks to Drew for starting off our day in a unique way with this check-in exercise. We were amazed at how much we were able to learn about each other in such a short period of time. From personal and professional goals to greatest achievements, this was a memorable time in which many found great value.
Great Takeoffs, Lessons Learned, & Servant Leadership
Drew shared with us some of the innovative practices PCI has adopted such as their “Great Takeoff Days,” where they dedicate an entire day to on-boarding new Associates; educating them on the PCI culture, what’s expected of them, and what they can expect from PCI and celebrating the special gifts each new Associate brings. These exciting on-boarding days always end with a celebration involving each new-hire’s family and the entire PCI team. We were reminded that a new Associate’s success within the company largely depends on their experience within their first week on the job.
Drew also shared some of the early history of this family owned company, including how he was recruited by his father to come help turn around the company, the paradigm shift into servant leadership, and how serious business challenges and losing revenue became the wake-up call that led to creating a great place to work. Drew learned about TDIndustries, one of our SLLC members, being recognized as one of the 100 Best Places to Work in America for several years running. He participated in classes at TD teaching servant leadership led by the AMCA Team. From this grew a highly engaged and innovative PCI culture based on 7 values and defining a highly inspiring vision: “We strengthen the ability of our nation’s colleges and universities to inspire dreams and transform lives.”
Tom then talked about concepts from the book, 4 Disciplines of Execution, to energize and focus the productivity in all dimensions of PCI. He explained how WIGs (Wildly Important Goals), created by Associates energize and inform each team, how focusing on LEAD measures inspire and reward both individual and team performance on a daily and weekly basis, and how they have formed Voluntary Book Clubs to encourage and invite each Associate to become part of the on-going learning which fuels this pace-setting and winning team.
Conscious Capitalism Dialogue
We commend each of our members for highly engaging in our dialogue time. We took a deep dive into some thought-provoking quotes from Conscious Capitalism and asked how these concepts were evident at PCI and in our own organizations. Some of our significant conversations centered on the following concepts:
- Power vs. Love and finding the balance.
- Creating, Inspiring, and Living out a higher purpose/common goal in your people and throughout your organization.
- Proactive vs. Reactive thinking
It was also inspiring to hear from members of PCI and see true authenticity and engagement from each person.
Suggested Follow-Up Actions
- Review the “notthebigcompany” little red book.
- Think about fun ways to keep your values, purpose, and mission visible.
- Initiate voluntary book clubs.
- Review on-boarding ideas; how do we make people feel special? Ensure a good 1st week?
- How do we spell out our vision in a way that engages the heart?
Stay Tuned…
Our next and last SLLC session of the year will take place on Friday, October 10th. We are working to secure a great site and developing an exciting plan we know you all will enjoy and benefit from! We will be sure to send more details as this date approaches.
The best test of servant leadership is: do those served grow as persons; do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants? And, will the least privileged in society benefit, or at least not be further deprived?”
– Robert K. Greenleaf
