Business IS Personal, and Other Leadership Rules

I have a new marketing crush. It's Simon Sinek. He was the Monday morning inspirational keynote speaker during DMA's &THEN event last week and I'm still running over in my head all the things he discussed in under an hour, a week later, because he gave us that much to chew on. His wonderfully dynamic speaking skills aside, Simon was able to be upfront and frank with a hall full of marketers. “Business is one of the most human things in the world,” he said early on in his presentation. Then he commented on that when he hears someone say, "It’s not personal, it’s business" he just laughs to himself. No, no it’s not ... business is personal. It’s human. And human is something we could all stand to do a little better, and a bit more often. Especially in leadership roles. Simon spoke about how in this ever-connected world, technology shouldn’t replace human contact. Instead, it should bring humans together. And leaders need to take the charge. Certificates Don't Make a Leader “[There's an] incredible lack of leadership across the world today in every industry,” Simon said. It may seem harsh, but hang on before you brush off his point. As humans, we like intensity because its easy to measure, and this is how leadership is often taught: Attend a leadership seminar Earn a certificate ”I’m a leader now!” It's the intensity we crave, but that's not how it works. Consistency matters more than intensity. Good leaders are built over time, energy and actions. Another point of his I really liked was that good leaders create an environment of vulnerability, which allows people to speak up and honestly ask for help and feel safe. If you know you can ask for help with a project and not fear a layoff or something else, employees will do so. This builds trust and stronger teams (trust me, THIS WORKS). Put the Phone Down We're all saying this, but Simon both reinforced points and made some new ones. When someone's smartphone is out — whether in their hand, on a table or anywhere else visible — it makes the other person in the conversation feel less important. Why? Because at any moment it's understood that a notification can go off, and attention gets transferred directly to the phone. During a meeting, a smartphone on the table announces to all “you’re not important.” And yes, Simon let us all know that flipping the phone over in an attempt to be polite is still just as bad. And it's true! How many meetings have you sat through with all the buzzing from phones being set to vibrate ... or the phone with the ringer still on? It's distracting, but we all do it ... and probably because a fair number of the people in leaderships roles are doing it. Not to be jerks, but because of this need to constantly be connected. Here, the tech gets in the way of the relationships. Toward the end of his presentation, Simon said, "Whoever understands people the best wins." "People" are our prospects, customers and even our fellow employees. Make it personal ... because that's just what good business is. There will probably be a couple more blog posts in the future that will reference Simon's presentation at &THEN 2016 ... he gave me a lot to think about.

Marketing and Sales

Business IS Personal, and Other Leadership Rules

Melissa Ward

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Melissa Ward