Three strategies for serving others

WE ARE CELEBRATING! This week marks the second anniversary of the start of the daily emails. We are republishing that first week of emails because they are still so relevant.
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April 8, 2020
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​Colleagues,
 
We are in a unique time that may be testing your current leadership abilities. Chances are that nothing has prepared you for leading in today’s specific context of social distancing and the threat born by a world pandemic. So, what can you do?
 
Just as the situation challenges your leadership, it also challenges those around you. One powerful strategy you can embrace is focusing on the professional and personal well-being of those you serve. Here are three concrete strategies to help you meet others’ needs:

1. Be fully present when you are with someone. Turn off notifications, stop working on other things and give 100% of your focus to the person you are with. Even if you do nothing else, your total attention will have an affirming and uplifting impact. 
2. Ask questions that require thoughtful responses. You can go the easy route by using the three questions from 5-minute coaching:
   1. What’s going well?
   2. What has surprised you?
   3. What needs to change/what would you do differently?
3. Provide quality feedback. Quality feedback includes these components:
   1. States the explicit action in detail
   2. Describes the outcome of the action
   3. Tells why the action led to that outcome

For example, “When you called the team’s attention to the times on the agenda (action), people realized the discussion was losing focus (why) and they worked on reaching closure (outcome).”
 
Choose one of these strategies and use it in one interaction today. Tomorrow, I’ll ask you to share with me what you did and how it went.
 
Thanks for all you do each day to serve others.
 
Cheers!
 
Frederick