This week, we’re continuing our Tip of the Week series on creating a leadership culture of trust and empowerment, rather than command and control, in our practices. These ideas come from Trust and Inspire by Stephen M.R. Covey, so be sure to refer back to my last 2 articles that introduced the book and outlined the leadership style shifts described in it.
So, how do we create this culture of trust, empowerment, and inspiration? First, we need to model the behavior we want and lead by example. Howard Schultz, the founder of Starbucks, spoke publicly about growing up in a poor neighborhood where his family struggled with low-paying jobs, lack of dignity, and no health care. He believed in treating each employee with respect and offering benefits to all employees, regardless of the number of hours they worked. In turn, his employees treated their customers with the same respect. Starbucks has been struggling lately, but as goes the leader, so goes the business.
Secondly, we need to trust. Leaders extend trust first by showing confidence in people’s ability and potential. Trust shifts the relationship from one of control to one of empowerment. The Ritz-Carlton has perhaps the most famous version of trust: They trust each employee to use a few thousand dollars per guest to “make things right” when a problem arises (I talked about this earlier this year in another Tip of the Week series). You can implement this concept in your office, too: Do you trust every employee to “make it right” for each of your patients without having to ask for permission or passing it off to someone else?
We also need to inspire and connect our people to our “why.” Leaders tap into people’s sense of meaning, purpose, and contribution. It’s about fueling hearts, not just managing hands. The key word is purpose. Tom’s Shoes, for example, gives a pair of shoes to a needy child for every pair that’s purchased. They involve their people in “giving missions,” where employees travel to distribute the shoes. Patagonia believes and lives by the mission of not just making jackets; they are saving the planet. Countless companies inspire and trust their employees. Not surprisingly, they are also quite successful.
We’ll be back next week to focus on optometry with everything we’re discussed so far.
