Serving Others

As a business leader, I often took for granted many of the ‘perks’ that came along with the job. People held doors for me, most laughed at my bad jokes, I would always get my calls returned promptly and I even had a special parking spot! When I visited branch offices, associates would put up signs welcoming me and spoil me with their favorite desserts and dishes. As an introvert at heart, it was sometimes embarrassing and often humbling.

There was an interesting characteristic about some of the distressed companies in which I was hired to manage. In many cases, when I arrived at the new company and met some of the prior leaders, they reveled in these ‘perks’. In fact, they even enjoyed others (like leaving early on Fridays to play golf, coming in late in the morning or always wanting more (pay, benefits and even office space). More often than not, the corporate office associated followed the example of these leaders and sometimes felt entitled or privileged. They sometimes thought that the field worked for them. I mean, they were the corporate office!

Once in my career, I decided that we needed to flip all of this. I decided that to be successful and to ‘fix’ these companies, we needed to change our culture and how we looked at these relationships. I can so clearly remember the first time I stood in front of the corporate office staff and said, “There are thousands of nurses, aides, social workers and therapists that day in and day out take care of others in need. They give so much of themselves to help to others at the worst time of their lives. These folks are the reason we have a job. They don’t work for us, we work for them. We are here to serve them!” Well, except for a scattering of people who applauded, there was a deafening silence. Most people had not thought of it that way. I knew I had my work cut out for me. This was not going to be easy.

The next day, I had a big, bright sign installed that said ‘Welcome to the Corporate Support Center’. Yikes, I was all in this point. No turning back. Next, we scheduled a luncheon for our field staff. But, not just any luncheon! Instead of having Jason’s Deli cater it as they normally did, we would serve the field. We would bring in our favorite meals, put on our aprons and serve them their lunch before we got to eat. Although the team was reluctant, they did it. They took great pride in making their favorite dishes, keeping them warm and having all of the ‘fixings’ to go alongside. Everything was in place.

I had our chaplain say a blessing and I said a few words and the field leaders went from station to station getting appetizers, main dishes, drinks and about a hundred desserts. I dished out ice cream at one of the stations and added the desired toppings.

After everyone was finished eating, one of the branch managers stood up with tears in his eyes to thank the corporate team and almost immediately the others stood as well and clapped in appreciation. MY CSC team members beamed with pride and I enjoyed the moment.

On the drive home that night, I knew we were going to be successful. We still had to grow sales, collect our cash and to provide great care but the foundation was laid. We were going to be a company who thought of others first. If we stayed true to our values of treating every patient like a loved family member and always doing the right thing, then although we lost some battles, we were probably going to win the war of success.

After that, I got smarter and started to hire leaders who held doors for others, cared more about someone else than themselves and came in early, stayed late, worked weekends and did whatever needed to be done. If their staff could do it, so could they. We each had a role to play, none more or less important than any other.

Now that I have slowed down and am trying to help the next one in line, my paradigm has shifted. People don’t always hold doors for me, contractors, insurance agents and service companies certainly don’t call me back promptly and only my 'daughterette' laughs at my jokes. (One of the many reasons I love her so much). But my goal to serve others has only multiplied. I really think it might be the secret of life. Try to figure out your gifts and then use them to help others. One of my favorite verses in the Bible reads: ‘To whom much has been given, much will be required’.

Thanks for reading this.

With a goal to “help the next one in line”, Glen Cavallo, a 30+ year healthcare executive has chosen to share the many lessons he has learned with others. Glen does this by serving as a coach/advisor to leaders at all levels of organizations, as a board member and as he presents inspirational speeches at regional, national, annual and awards meetings.