A LEADER WITH MEANING

By Laura Wallace  |  May 18, 2017

Every year for the past 4 years, the Worx team has attended Leadercast, a global one-day leadership event that is broadcasted in satellite locations around the world. It’s an important part of our company culture to continue to invest in the knowledge, talent, and minds of our team. While some are the core leaders of the organization, everyone on the team has a leadership role and responsibility. And just when we think we’ve mastered it, there’s something new to learn to better everyone around us.

This year’s focus was “Powered by Purpose.” Leadercast says that “Purpose is what defines us, drives us and empowers us.” They challenged us to think about what it looks like to be part of a team that understands the meaning and the metrics as well as how we feel when why you do what you do matters as much as what we do.

We’re all working every day, earning a living to take care of our basic needs. But what happens when you exchange your time for something that is bigger? What about being part of an organization that thinks big with their employees in mind, being part of something bigger than ourselves and making a positive contribution in the community, the country or the world? That my friend is being powered by purpose.

We took away a ton and a half of information, but there are a few tidbits that really stood strong for us:

Grunt Test
Donald Miller gave us a few new branding nuggets to fold into our process. If you can’t communicate your purpose clearly, it results in wasted marketing dollars. The brand with the most simplistic message wins! When viewing a website, we should be looking for these three things right away:
1. What do you sell?
2. What’s in it for me?
3. How do I buy it?

Be the Guide
Donald also talks about how people like following leaders who are clear. When marketing, don’t tell your story, tell the customer’s story Paint a picture for their pain points and how you’re going to solve them. This also aligns with being the guide, not the hero. Your client should serve as the hero in the story. As the guide, help the hero win the battle. Put them in the spotlight!

Embrace Your Tree
Tyler Perry shared with us the analogy of people and trees.
1. Leaves – People that come in and out of our lives. They have a season and a purpose. Embrace them while they’re with you and let them go when their season is over. Never be upset with a leaf for being a leaf.
 2. Branches – People who carry more of the load, are more invested and can bare the weight. Know how much to put on them before they break.
 3. Roots – Core people in our lives, holding on strong. These people don’t need to be seen to know they are there and only the force of an act of God could remove them.

Every time we invest in events like Leadercast, our team levels up. Bosses, invite your team to be part of ongoing learning opportunities! Get them out into the world. When you learn together, the rising tide lifts all ships. It’s hard to bring back such powerful information and get people completely excited if they weren’t in the moment. But if they are with you and you can brainstorm and collaborate in the moment… magical things can happen. Your team wants to be part of your vision, give them an opportunity to!