It’s no surprise to me that, when I speak on leadership, audience members will approach me after and relay their astonishment that I was a Military Officer. That “my positive brand of leadership” is not indicative with what they knew or what they had experienced from the military. It’s no surprise because during my military career, I felt like a round peg trying to fit into a square hole. After years of trying to “fit in” and years of being uncomfortable, I took a cue from Frankie, lead “My Way” and practiced my own brand of “Peopleship.” Our policies, plans and procedures are important as long as those people who implement them are “on board.” People make the ship move. People make the process work. It’s people that make the workplace bearable. Unfortunately, it’s the people that are most forgotten when thinking about mission. The key to Peopleship is to un-think, un-learn, and un-plan our daily interactions with our team and focus in on the connection – linking yourself to them, each other, and then the mission. Peopleship is not about theory, it’s about being:

Unconventional

The only thing anyone has ever been able to expect from me as a leader is that, in any given situation, I was going to do something unexpected. Ranging from working along side them doing the most menial of tasks to challenging them to chair races down the passageway. If we want new paradigms of conformity – paradigms of connection and free thinking, then the rules have to be broken. We have to break the rules of “how we do things around here” and get to new possibilities. Let’s face it, we (as human beings) love the status quo. We love knowing what comes next. We love the homeostasis that comes with life. As time passes, this results in each day becoming a repeat of the day before and we can quickly end up in a mind numbing cycle of monotonous mire – zapping creativity, productivity, and connections. Unconventionality shakes the status quo and brings connection, depth in our relationships, and new possibilities.

Unscripted

Perception is not reality. Reality is reality. None of us are perceived as we perceive ourselves. We all have visions of what a leader is, what a leader does, how a leader acts and these schemas cause us to focus in on the scripts of what a leader should say and managing other’s perceptions of us rather than really trying to be in the moment with a team member. Unscripting our interactions enables us to connect.

One of my best supervisors was a relentless taskmaster. Every morning we would meet and we would go over the endless list of things that needed to be done and, every morning, I would leave knowing that I’d never be able to get them all accomplished. What made me try so hard to hit the mark (time and time again) was our relationship. Although we met every day, once a week we met, drank coffee, and just talked about “things.” We went off the script and discussed my family, his family, trials, triumphs – whatever came up because it was totally unscripted. He not only cared about how I did, he cared for me. That wasn’t perception, it was reality. Going off the script allows us to learn about our team members as people, connect with them, and move forward.

Unrelenting

Service to one another isn’t just another “thing” we should be doing, it’s the main thing. We should be unrelenting in our pursuit of taking care of our team and in our commitment to improving the overall quality of work life. This is a combination of knowing what is important to our people, rewarding the hard work they do and also helping them keep things in balance.

For me, there are two types of people in the world. There are people that think about doing things (but never act) and there are those that actually do things. Service to one another is something that is done. Yes, we think about it but it’s the action that has meaning. Be unrelenting in your service to your team and improving the quality of work life – serve until it hurts and then….serve some more!

Peopleship isn’t about theory, it’s about being undeniably awesome as a leader. It’s about doing it “Your Way!” Being you, being real, and working to connect with your team. Peopleship is sometimes reflective, sometimes strategic but is always authentic. Today’s workforce and work environment is dynamic and continually changing. If we want to move past the paradigms that we’ve grown up on how to lead and compete in today’s world, it takes people. Focus your efforts on being unconventional, unscripted, and unrelenting – the investment you make in connecting with your team will bring returns you have never been capable of even dreaming for in your results.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bf5cpK0LGOo[/youtube]