One of my mentors gave me very pointed advice last year. It stung at first, but the outcome of fully understanding what he said to me has changed my mindset on… well, everything - and I can't thank our CEO and co-founder, Stan, enough for it.
Here at Movista, our office hours officially start at 8:00 A.M. Now, here's the advice I was given: "Leaders get here at 7:00 A.M."
Impactful, right?! Now go and be fruitful, my friends! Tattoo that advice on your body, get to work by 7 in the morning, and prosper to the fullest while we raise a drink to your new-found success.
All joking aside, there is a lot more to this than just an expectation. What Stan was telling me is: leaders will do more than what's expected.
What was expected of me and everyone else who just wants to achieve mediocrity are things like:
- get to work by 8:00 A.M.
- do your daily work routine
- be a good employee (read: be a good human being)
There are a myriad of additional things you can add to the list. Make it personal and think of all the things that are simply expected of you - at work, at home, with friends, with family, etc. It's an interesting exercise that may surprise you.
But here is where the impact comes into play. As a reminder, the advice is "Leaders get here at 7:00 AM."
- Be at work earlier than expected and stay later than expected!
- Don't look at work as a routine. Make it fun and exciting - and oh by the way, do it with excellence!
- Go above and beyond with your customers and co-workers. Start with smiling and converse with them!
- Help out other teams in the office - you are capable of more than what you were hired to do!
- Clean up after yourself and sometimes, you'll get to serve others by cleaning up after them!
- Be encouraging! We all know work is stressful - be a light amidst the chaos!
- Jump into the trenches and dig - be present!
To do all of the above requires you to be more, to do more and to expect more of yourself. You’ll have to make some changes to your process to make it happen. You’ll even have to change some things at home to become this leader at work and vice versa. I promise you, the effort is worth it. It will improve your work and home life. The people around you will be thankful for your new found leadership qualities. Don’t believe me? Please, be my guest and prove me wrong by trying it out.
I'll leave you with this: you will not become a leader simply because you are physically "here" at 7:00 AM. You get “here” at 7:00 AM because you are a leader!
Lead well, my friends!
