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Leadership Lessons from
Everyday Heroes
by Patricia Fripp |
Is there a gold mine of creativity, innovation, and leadership in your midst? Most companies do and don't know it. |
Leaders get results through others. There are everyday heroes you've never heard of who may teach you almost as much as famous business writers. Why? Because these people have developed the ability to discover extraordinary employees -- right under their noses. Is there a gold mine of creativity, innovation,
and leadership in your midst? Most companies do and don't know it. You
may have such a worker right now and not be aware of it.
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| Patty Lake, one of my "everyday heroes,"
told me about a woman on her staff at Shell Services International who
had worked in Payroll for over twenty-five years.
"In all that time," says Patty, "she had
never received a promotion. She had never been recognized for her contributions,
led a team or participated on a special project. She hadn't had a raise
in several years. No one ever asked for
"She had been given the lowest performance rating short of termination for many years. She didn't rock the boat. She just did her job and did not complain. "Fortunately, I didn't know any of this.
When I started at Shell, my manager agreed to let me give each employee
a clean slate. I would not review past performance assessments nor listen
to old gossip. Instead, I sat down with each staff member to find out about
them and what they did. This woman, along with
"I took her at her word and arranged for her to participate in the local American Payroll Association (APA) chapter. She took the basic payroll seminar offered by the national APA, took computer-application classes, and attended the statewide conference. "She blossomed! "Late this past fall, she led a project
team for a customer's special needs project, a highly visible and very
delicate undertaking. The outcome was phenomenal. She and her entire team
were recognized and rewarded by the customer for their successful handling
of the work. In addition, she is now
"When she got her performance review this March, she earned a significant raise and an incentive bonus. She cried and told me that all she had ever needed was someone to believe in her. I did and I do." Such a simple story from a woman you have
probably never heard of and will never meet, but Patty Lake's example of
discovering and developing leaders right under your nose could change your
life and your own results as a leader. Now it's up to you.
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| Patricia Fripp
Member: Speakers Roundtable Web site: http://www.speakersroundtable.com Email: office@SpeakersRoundtable.com Speakers Roundtable is a consortium of
22 of America's
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