Leadership Axioms That Ensure My Intentions Are Honorable & True

Being a Servant Leader requires tremendous conviction to ensure your intentions are congruent with your values and beliefs. I spent 30 years in the retail sector as an Executive Leader with The Home Depot, Lowes, Barnes & Noble, Shopko, PetSmart, Toys R Us, Publix Supermarkets, and Festival Foods. Throughout my tenure, I created a list of axioms that kept me centered and grounded for reminding me to always stay true to serving others.

“I made a staunch decree to myself that I would not succumb to these types of actions even in the face of humiliation, admonishment, and ridicule.”

These axioms became concrete “anchors” which guided me along during extremely tumultuous periods. Entrenched within these challenging environments, I noticed many of my retail colleagues engaging in disingenuous and unethical behaviors that were dishonoring the vow they took to assist and serve others. Many of these leaders achieved their numbers and were lavished with praise, promotions, and accolades. I made a staunch decree to myself that I would not succumb to these types of actions even in the face of humiliation, admonishment, and ridicule.

1. FAIRNESS IS THE CURRENCY OF DECENCY

We have all heard the phrase “life is not fair.” However, I never really resonated with this message. I have always believed that good people do not finish last. I CHOSE to become a leader that possessed strong character, sterling integrity, empathy, compassion, kindness, and fairness. I originally created this axiom when I first started interviewing and hiring people. I continually noticed that many of my peers and bosses were engaged in a plethora of unfair behaviors that were disadvantageous towards the applicants.

Many of these individuals were taking advantage of an applicant’s {desperation} to secure employment by offering subpar salary offerings that were not compatible with their experience and background. It is like a GAME for many (not all) of the hiring managers who are making these employment offers.

They want to see how far they can push the proverbial envelope by underpaying and devaluing their candidates with a low-ball offer. The proper protocol for extending employment offers is to recompense the applicant for “what the position pays” and not for what the candidate was making in their previous jobs.

“It is disingenuous to attempt to demoralize your future employees by offering a substandard salary.”

Pecuniary flexibility is the oil that lubricates the hiring machine, and the hiring manager should always strive to remain reasonable with their salary offerings. Any company worth its salt should understand that this process is a give and take which is SUPPOSED to be a negotiation. It is disingenuous to attempt to demoralize your future employees by offering a substandard salary which should be a collaborative and transparent event that mutually benefits both parties.

Employees/managers always find out what other people are earning, and if they are being severely under-compensated, this presupposes the new person to feelings of inadequacy, diminished self-esteem, and anger. This creates a disgruntled employee who should be excited and invigorated for their new role; on the contrary, they feel like they have been “duped.” This can lead to low morale, excessive absenteeism, and high levels of unproductivity.

2. AN EVEN EXCHANGE OF ENERGY

This anchor is near and dear to my heart. An even exchange of energy is a commitment that I made to always guarantee that I put forth supreme effort in any commitment, engagement, relationship, or activity that I was involved with. I created this axiom when I was a new department manager and I noticed that many (not all) other department managers/assistant managers were not upholding their commitment to serve and assist their employees. I always treated the opportunity of leadership with respect, reverence, and humility because I felt honored to guide and help others.

“I stayed true to my convictions and continued along on my path towards improving as a Servant Leader.”

It became apparently obvious that many of these individuals were abusing their leadership powers by failing to “hold up their end of the bargain.” These managers became deficient in mentoring, guiding, inspiring, and coaching their teams. I would hear comments like: now I can relax and hang out in the back, I don’t have to work on the floor as much, and I hit the jackpot. I felt very uncomfortable around these conversations and openly challenged these individuals regarding their commitment to leading by example with their teams. This created a divisive environment that ostracized me from the management click. However, I stayed true to my convictions and continued along on my path towards improving as a Servant Leader.

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3. SINCERE, AUTHENTIC, GENUINE, AND ENGAGED OR S.A.G.E.

As I continued my progression to becoming a better Servant Leader, I realized that most of the leaders I admired were authentic, humble, kind, and altruistic. I feel that it is advantageous to create axioms or anchors that create a hyper-focused perspective that will keep me centered and grounded for achieving my aspirations. I have always enjoyed helping others through my gifts of inspiration, motivation, coaching, mentoring, listening, and genuinely caring about people.

SINCERE

A true leader must be sincere in their interactions with others. The definition of sincere is “free from pretense or deceit.” Our intentions dictate our actions which create our sustained behaviors. The strongest way I know to lead others is through leading by example. I really enjoy helping others by “showing them versus telling them” which creates a solid foundation for credibility. When I decided to write my book: The Ultimate Retail Manual I wanted to ensure that I relayed the cacophony of information from a {Empirical Results} as opposed to a {Theoretical Idea} perspective. I have read many books that say if you perform A & B you might get C. When people follow the 10-pillar strategy in my book and they are consistent with their efforts, the percentage of people who achieve their aspirations will be fantastically high.

AUTHENTIC

An authentic leader is one who is true to their values, beliefs, and convictions. They are uniquely special and different from the crowd. The “dance to the beat of their own drum” but in their own specific way. Leaders who exude authenticity have a strong following because of their ability to create an inclusive environment for others to be themselves as well. We are ALL uniquely different!!! Throughout my lengthy retail career, I was often shunned by other leaders because I was content with being myself and following my own passions. I was ridiculed and mocked for discussing feng-shui principles that generated auspicious energy that customers, employees, leaders, and vendors could FEEL.

“I always believed that THE CUSTOMER, EMPLOYEE, VENDOR – AND YES – THE MANAGER was equally essential.” 

Another example of my authenticity was my steadfast belief that everyone was important within the organization. In many retail stores that I worked in, the executive leadership teams mainly focused 90% of their energy on the ubiquitous catchphrases: satisfy the customer, listen to the customer, value the customer, etc. I never UNDERSTOOD why the employee, or the manager, or the vendor was perceived as inferior or unimportant when compared to the customer. I always believed that THE CUSTOMER, EMPLOYEE, VENDOR – AND YES – THE MANAGER was equally essential.

Each should be respected and treated exactly the same. We need to radically change this unfavorable paradigm and start realizing that all of the individuals involved in the retail sector (customer, associate, manager, vendor, etc.) are equally significant. Everyone should be able to co-exist synergistically for the greater good with every individual being treated like family.

GENUINE

Being a genuine leader means that you never compromise your ethics, values, or beliefs because of external circumstances. In the world we live in, this is extremely hard to do! Shareholders, stakeholders, and institutional organizations are demanding financial performance.

“It takes massive courage to become a genuine leader who truly cares about others and will stand up for what is right.”

However, genuine leaders find a way to remain true to their principles by always leading with integrity, character, and uncompromising ethics. Here is a great video link to emphasize this concept. It takes massive courage to become a genuine leader who truly cares about others and will stand up for what is right.

ENGAGED

I observed that true Servant Leaders are heavily engaged with their employees, leaders, customers, and vendors. Engagement is a critical behavior that any leader or individual should emulate in their professional and personal lives in order to strengthen and develop their relationships. Engaged leaders always have the best interest of their employees at the forefront of their intentions.

“I aspired to become the leader that I would want to work for!”

Throughout my 30-year retail tenure, I continued to hone my engagement skills by improving my “active listening skills,” getting to know each employee by tapping into their aspirations, passions, and goals and performing weekly check-ins by asking Are You Ok? I aspired to become the leader that I would want to work for! I discuss many more examples in my book.

4. KARMA IS UNDEFEATED

Karma is defined as “the spiritual principle of cause and effect where intent and actions of an individual (cause) influence the future of that individual (effect).” In addition, The Law of Attraction states that “like attracts like.” This energy can either be used constructively or destructively depending on the predominant thought processes of a leader/organization.

“My intentions generate my karma and when I am treating everyone the same way, I can expect to receive the identical vibration in return for everyone involved.”

Organizational Karma is how the intentions of the company (employees/leaders) generate the results the business can expect to receive. Positive/altruistic intentions usually lead to long-term successes while negative/deceptive intentions can create short-term victories. However, short-term victories are not sustainable in the long run. The energy created from these intentions must be returned. Consequently, what goes around comes around.

My intentions generate my karma and when I am treating everyone the same way, I can expect to receive the identical vibration in return for everyone involved. Thus, I am CREATING THE ENVIRONMENT I DESIRE.

“Each individual’s energy will be returned to them in due time.”

I used to wonder why people who were cheating continued to win. After thinking about this for a while, I finally had an epiphany that cleared everything up for me; each individual’s energy will be returned to them in due time. This revelation creates an environment where grudges, bad feelings, and hurtful thoughts are no longer congruent within my psyche for those that have wronged me, intentionally hurt me, or had malicious intentions. I now wish everyone well and I move on with my life.

THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO READ MY ARTICLE. I LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING YOUR THOUGHTS.