MESSAGE FROM GREG MILLER AT 2015 LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE:
WHAT LEADERSHIP MEANS TO ME
Quality leadership is, and will continue to
be, one of the most important ingredients
of our company’s success. I am reminded
every year at our annual leadership
conference just how fortunate we are to
have so many great people working and
leading our company.
I took the opportunity at our conference
to speak about what leadership means
to me, as well what I believe are the 10
attributes of leadership. Effective leaders
use their authority to produce results that
enrich lives, and every employee has a chance to lead, whether in the
workplace, at home or in the community.
Leadership is simply an individual’s ability to influence, motivate,
and enable others to contribute toward organizational success.
Influence and inspiration separate leaders from managers, not power
and control, and leadership is never determined by the size of the
organization being led.
NBA team owner, a public figure, had more money than he
could spend, etc. But he didn’t act big. He stayed humble
throughout his life. He wore a $100 watch and free tennis
shoes. For years his daily driver was a car built in 1963.
There is a lesson here for all of us: stay humble.
7. Respect - As success comes, we must continue to
demonstrate respect on all levels, from the foundation
of the organization and resource base, to those who
give their time, talent and energy to help us achieve our
objectives, and to our guests and customers who chose
to spend their hard-earned money with us. Respect also
extends to our competition, our families, and ourselves.
8. Service - True leadership involves serving those they
lead, demonstrating a clear interest in their success.
Service also relates to opportunities to create goodwill
and enrich the lives of others by seeking, finding and filling
unmet needs in the community.
The Ten Attributes of Leadership
1. Surround yourself with the highest
quality people possible High-performance organizations have
high-performance people supporting
a leader who appreciates being
surrounded by talented people.
2. stablish expectations / Articulate
E
the objective - Ensuring team
members know what needs to be
done is more important than telling
them how to do it.
THE SINGLE GREATEST REASON FOR OUR
GROWTH AND INCREASE IN PROFITABILITY
OVER THE LAST SIX YEARS IS BECAUSE
WE HAVE THE RIGHT PEOPLE IN THE RIGHT
PLACE DOING THE RIGHT THINGS
AT THE RIGHT TIME
3. Delegation - By establishing expectations and granting autonomy,
delegation becomes easier, and leaders can spend time and effort on
the highest and best uses, and helping others to perform at a higher
level.
4. Accountability - Knowing we have an obligation to return and
report to a higher power tends to make us work harder and smarter,
and make better decisions.
5. Consistent high performance and realization of desired
outcomes - With the cornerstones of the right people, a clear vision,
and delegation and accountability in place, high performance and
realization of desired outcomes are much more likely to be attained.
6. Humility - There is always someone bigger, smarter, faster or
better out there somewhere. If we are foolish and arrogant enough to
believe we are at the pinnacle of our success, we probably are.
My dad often said when speaking of the growth of the organization,
“I don’t mind getting big, but I never want to act big.” If ever there was
anyone who had reasons to act big it was him: he was the boss, an
9. Good Judgment -There is a
direct correlation between the
quality of a person’s judgment
and the value of their leadership.
Thoughtful, timely decisions
are the basis for success and
happiness.
When I was a teenager my dad
wrote me a letter that included
some of the best advice he
ever gave me. In the letter he
taught: “The quality of our lives
is in direct proportion to the
quality of decisions we make.” I
have proved him right countless times—and not always by
making the right choice.
10. Inspiring those around you to be better - To me, John
Stockton personifies greatness and leadership on and off
the court. Throughout John’s career he had the ability to
make average players good and great players even better.
I believe all of us are in a position to do likewise. As good
as John was at almost every aspect of the game, he didn’t
try to do everything himself. He delegated. He allowed
his teammates to do their jobs. He is perhaps the greatest
example I know of what it means to make those around
you better.
Imagine the impact on the performance of your
organization if you could inspire every member to
improve their performance even one percent. The
compounding effect would be amazing! This is one of the
greatest responsibilities of a leader, and few bring greater
satisfaction or greater results than helping others realize
personal growth and development, and satisfaction of
accomplishment. WS