Hardwood Floors April/May 2017

Lessons Learned in Leadership FINAL COAT

By Michael Martin President & CEO, NWFA

The NWFA team poses for a photo at the 2016 NWFA Wood Flooring Expo.

I have yet to ever meet a leader who wishes he or she would have waited longer to remove incompetence or someone with a bad attitude. And in fact, productive co-workers generally rejoice and are more than willing to cover any responsibilities left by the departure. No leader regrets making room for others who are positive and willing to learn and change, especially those individuals who know how to put the organization’s goals above their own personal goals; understanding that the whole is bigger than their part. People with this attitude are in on a big secret: put your organization first, and your organization will prosper, generally leading to a personal reward beyond your expectations. Now for culture. As a leader, your number one priority is to create a culture in which your team can thrive. This sounds easy, but it’s hard, and it can take a long time to create. Effective leaders are constantly assessing themselves and their teams for improvements. True success comes when every individual is dedicated to the mission versus their own needs and is also constantly assessing the organization’s needs. Good leaders exist in every rank of your organization, whether others report to them or not. They understand their value. Good leaders at every level are in tune with whether the right people are in the right places, still doing the right thing. Once people are in the right places, above all else, a good leader protects this culture, because this culture, not any one

As I write this, I’m celebrating my sixth anniversary with NWFA. I had many ideas about leadership before becoming your President. Some of them worked; some of them didn’t! Today, after learning a few lessons firsthand, there are two things I know for certain about successful leadership: 1. Put the right people in the right places, doing the right things. 2. Create, and then protect, a healthy culture. Let’s take people first. Everyone has worked with someone who isn’t in the right company, environment, or job role. Employees who are working out of sync in one of these areas tend to bring down the people around them who are in the right place. As a result, profitability and morale sink. If an employee is in the right place, but isn’t in the right job, that’s fixable by investing in skills training, and more importantly, by investing in the employee. If a leader sees potential, it’s often possible to shift someone’s focus and responsibilities. That’s a good problem to have. If, on the other hand, an employee possesses the right skill set, but not the right attitude, that’s not fixable. Good leaders address the attitude issue head-on and insist on change. If that doesn’t happen, it becomes hard, but necessary, to remove negative or inept employees from the workplace.

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