That shift in focus was both practical and inspirational. Practically, focusing on who I wanted to serve helped me greatly narrow down the careers I might be interested in pursuing.
Inspirationally, focusing on who I wanted to serve gave me a sense of purpose, and having a purpose is what energizes us, fulfills us and makes life’s struggles feel worth the effort. No matter your job, changing your focus to who you are serving creates a powerful mental shift.
This is supposed to be an article focused on leadership, so you might be wondering what a discussion about service has to do with leadership. Well, in fact, the two concepts are inseparable.
Our best leaders are focused on their customers – the people both inside and outside of the organization who are being served. The incredible thing is that when we focus on service, everyone wins. We all have those days when we are feeling tired, or the job feels a bit repetitive. In these moments, our focus tends to shift to the tasks we have to complete to just get through the day and we stop focusing on the people we are serving.
When that happens, leadership and customer service can slip. We might fail to fully consider how others inside, outside, up and down the organization will feel about our actions.
So I would like to challenge you to first recognize yourself as a leader, no matter your official duty title. You are a leader because you have the ability to make a difference within your organization and with your customers.
Then think about your customer service touch points – the moments your actions and words engage another person – and recognize the power your actions and words have on other people as you serve them. Your customers will eventually forget the details of the tasks you performed, but they will always remember how you made them feel.
Will they feel like they were valued and understood? Will they feel like you were proactive in dealing with them? Will they feel like they are a hassle to you or instead will they feel like they are the center of your purpose?
So we can all benefit by renewing our dedication to providing superior leadership through superior customer service. Identify who you are serving, understand when and where your actions impact those people and make it your goal to provide your customers with the most positive experience possible.
If you are writing an email, make it the best email. If you are responding to a tasker, make it the best response. If you are answering the phone, then have the best conversation you can have. If you are supporting a customer, make that interaction the finest interaction possible.
Your sense of fulfillment will increase, your leadership skills will develop and your customers will reward you for the outstanding experience.
About the Author