True Leadership

Ever heard of a Cult Manager? No - but you haveWhen I had a problem with difficult servers who
heard of a cult leader, right? Were Patton,were on a go slow strike, he said, "Shame them
Montgomery and Churchill managers or leaders? Iinto work" and proceeded to clear tables himself.
have been a leader in various area in my life,Soon the embarrassed waiters were back at
including religious, military, business, community,work.
service clubs and sales. I encountered very fewLeaders are passionate, effective and dedicated.
real leaders, but I would like to tell you about twoThey don't make excuses and they don't accept
of them to illustrate a point. I encountered bothexcuses. They set a high standard and example.
of them while I was a manager in the hotelThey do a LOT of training. They take the lead,
industry.initiate, innovate and make it happen. They don't
Arthur Honey was an ex pro boxer andtolerate losers or laziness and they genuinely care
businessman extraordinaire. He owned the hotelabout the people they lead. They take the time
that I managed. One morning I was eatingto get to know their people and demand loyalty
breakfast with my family when I saw Mr. Honeyand commitment. They earn the respect of their
(one would never call him "Arthur") go by carryingfollowers: I worked for nine months straight for
a table. Next thing he was carrying chairs. I got upArthur Honey, during which time I only took one
and asked him if I could help him. He relied quitday off - the day my son was born. And I learnt
calmly, "Actually, Robin, you forgot to tell theso much from him.
conference staff to set up for the RotaryManagement Tip
meeting in thirty minutes so I stepped in to help.Turn work into a game and a competition. I once
Finish your breakfast." He could have scolded me,had a problem with two employees who had to
but instead he calmly embarrassed me. I neverunload a beer truck every Tuesday - they were
missed another event. Great leadership.slow and lazy. I said, "I'll bet I can unload more
The other true leader was a Swiss Executivecrates than you can in four minutes. I placed my
Director in a huge casino where I was a Food andwatch on a crate and got to work. Within a short
Beverage Manager. When I first started on thewhile, the weekly "Unloading the Beer Truck
job, he asked me to organize a big event. When ICompetition" attracted chefs, bar tenders,
had done the work, I reported back to him. Hemanger and gardeners. No more problems and
said, "Mr. Elliott, I gave you a command and Ilots of fun.
expect it to be done. I take it for granted that itMotivational Quote
is done. You don't need to tell me it's done, thank"Blessed is the leader who seeks the best for
you." What an excellent way of establishingthose he serves.
expectations and responsibility. Excellent leadership.