Why you can’t have exceptional service without exceptional leadership
I’ve been travelling the length and breadth of the country this year, delivering Zest for Life’s Exceptional Leadership and Exceptional Service Makes Sense training programmes. It’s always inspiring to meet leaders who want to become the best possible version of themselves, so they can lead their teams to do the same for their customers. This is exceptional leadership in action.
Though the two development programmes are separate, they are intrinsically linked. In this blog I explain how, through two very different stories.
Exceptional leadership in action
I’ve been working with a group of tired hotels, desperately in need of investment to give them a new lease of life. Luckily, the group’s new owners wanted to focus on service. Their ultimate ambition is to convert their properties into boutique hotels. They knew that, to achieve boutique status and standards, a lot needed to change.
While visiting the various properties, I met a general manager who was new to role. Even after three short weeks, that person had already made a huge difference to their team and property. They understood the clear link between leadership and service delivery - that you cannot achieve one without the other.
Here’s what I noticed:
I could see their team had clear direction; everyone knew their role and responsibilities.
The leader cared deeply about each team member and their guests.
Work had already started on upgrading the bedrooms. Importantly, the rooms were clean and tidy.
Thoughtful, considered messages left in the rooms personalised the guest experience and made it special.
The food was the tastiest of all the properties in the group. It was clear the chef took great pride in delivering a high standard of food preparation and presentation.
Exceptional service in action
In a completely unrelated story, I recently went to get some paint mixed at my local DIY store. I arrived to find the mixing machine was out of order, and they didn’t know when it would be fixed, but an engineer was on call. It was unhelpful. I had work planned and needed the paint urgently. The staff member sympathised with my plight, but made no attempt to help me find an alternative solution.
I knew the only other place nearby that stocked the brand was a trade centre. I called and asked for a price on the two paints I needed, knowing the trade price would be higher. They were a lot more expensive than the retail price, so I asked him to make up just one of the colours and drove straight there to collect it.
The man I spoke to on the phone was so helpful. When I arrived, he explained why trade paints were more expensive (better quality, longer lasting) and gave me a 25% discount to reduce the cost, so I was able to buy both after all. He even offered to carry the tins to the car for me. Ten minutes later, I left the shop with the two colours I wanted, reassured about buying a higher quality product, and feeling good having saved some money - the perfect outcome!
The link between exceptional leadership and service
In the hotel, I saw an alignment between the leader and their team. I gleaned from feedback at the training sessions that the previous leader did not have this. I got the feeling they hadn’t really cared about the team or customer, and this sentiment filtered down through the team. In their new leader, they had a shining light, full of belief and commitment to building an incredible team and customer experience. It was fabulous!
At the trade centre, I was made to feel important, and although I did pay a higher price, I was happy because I knew I was getting friendly, helpful service and a better quality product. I’m sure not every customer receives such a big discount on their purchase and told the server how much I appreciated him making life a little easier. He was happy, smiley and eager to help, in a way the retailer failed. Service like this doesn’t just happen. It comes from proper training, understanding customer needs and setting consistent standards you expect your team to achieve.
Exceptional leadership is the key to creating a zest for life that leads to exceptional service. A strong, caring leader makes a world of difference to their team, customer experience and business results.
What keeps a leader awake at night?
Are you concerned about a team member who is not performing well or engaging with their work, colleagues or business?
Do you have concerns about how their behaviour is affecting team morale and customer experience?
If these questions are keeping you up at night, stop procrastinating and seek support to become a confident leader who makes a positive difference to their team and organisation.
Join our Exceptional Leadership online workshop
Join the Zest for Life online leadership workshop series to discover solutions and build confidence to address any team concern. You will sleep better at night and gain energy, focus, and a sustainable zest for life. Contact Sally to arrange a power hour or book on the workshop.
In the workshops, you’ll learn how to:
Engage your team to know exactly what to do to upgrade your customer experience.
Encourage your team to assess their own performance and build confidence to handle any customer concern.
Make every single task and responsibility achievable.
My book, Exceptional Service Makes Sense, takes you through the steps to achieving service excellence in more detail. The general manager in the earlier story loved the Exceptional Service Makes Sense programme, describing it as “so Ritz-Carlton”. He also requested a copy of the book, which you can get your hands on here.
Leadership and service have a clear link. When businesses align expectations of both, they can achieve exceptional standards. Zest for Life programmes and workshops are designed to help you and your team get there.