7 WAYS TO PUT IN MORE THAN YOU TAKE OUT

A great Post by Dan Rockwell

You’re a black hole, if all you think about is what you need from others.

Great leaders give more than they take.

4 things that drain people:

1. Expectation without appreciation. You aren’t thankful for behaviors you expect. “We don’t thank people for doing their job.”
2. Direction without respect. “I don’t care what you have to do, just get it done.”
3. Nit-picking without honoring hard work.
4. Showing up when there are problems but not celebrating successes. “Seagull managers fly in, make a lot of noise, dump on everyone, then fly out.” Ken Blanchard.

Energizing goes beyond paychecks and plaques.

7 ways to put in more than you take out:

1. Make a list of ways you can pour into your teammates. Engage in at least one act of free generosity every day.
2. Agree on what matters today, tomorrow, and next week. People want to do what matters. In order to succeed at what matters, you must first know what matters.
3. Learn from others. “What do you think?”
4. Hold yourself and others to high standards with tenacity and kindness. Define and reach for high standards together.
5. Lead with heart. Connect results to purpose. Explain how they’re making things better in view of organizational purpose. “When you open a door for a customer, you take us where we want to go,” for example.
6. Focus on solutions more than problems. Examine problems long enough to understand them, but focus on making things better. When things go wrong, ask:
   • What are we learning?
   • What do we need to stop doing?
   • What will you do differently next time?
7. Make people feel important. If you don’t know what makes people feel important, ask, “What makes you feel important?”

Bonus: Forgive sincere failure. Confront negligence. Give second chances.

How might leaders learn to give more than they take?