Amazon's Leadership Principles

This one's a bit long but there's a lot of good information in here.

Amazon's Leadership Principles

It's amazing to think about. Just 20 years ago Amazon was a small little website that sold books. 20 years later and they're solid competitors, if not industry leaders, in retail, publishing, logistics, wireless, toys, devices, apparel, and cloud computing - just to name a few.

Part of the reason for their success is their culture of hiring and developing leaders with a focus on the 14 Amazon leadership principles that have guided the company's decision-making. EVERY Amazon employee is expected to adhere to these principles. Many of these principles apply to Toastmasters as well. For brevity's sake I'll just talk about the ones that apply to Toastmasters. My comments will be in italics. You can find the full list of Amazon's Leadership Principles here.

Customer Obsession
Leaders start with the customer and work backwards. They work vigorously to earn and keep customer trust.

In Toastmasters, our members are our customers. Without them, there's no reason for the rest of us to be here. NEVER lose track of the fact that it's ALL about the member.

Ownership
Leaders are owners. They think long term and don't sacrifice long-term value for short-term results. They act on behalf of the entire company, beyond just their team. They never say "that's not my job."

Your club struggles with membership. You get a guest that likes your meeting but tells you that your meeting place/time/location/what have you really isn't ideal for them. You know that there's another club that would be ideal for them. What do you do? If you're a leader you tell them about the other club and offer to put them in contact with the President of the other club. Yes, getting them to sign up would give your club a short-term "win". But long-term? The member will eventually transfer to another club or drop out of Toastmasters altogether and not think kindly about the organization.

You're at a meeting and you see a guest standing by themselves. You're not the Vice President Membership. You're not the "greeter" for the day. It's not YOUR job to go talk to them. But it is. Leaders pitch in and do whatever is in the best interests of the organization.

Invent and Simplify
Leaders expect and require innovation and invention from their teams and always find ways to simplify. They are externally aware, look for new ideas from everywhere, and are not limited by "Not invented here."

Ever been frustrated by members that don't want to do something because "we've never done it that way before!"? If not then you COULD be that member! LOL!

New members bring with them excitement, enthusiasm, and new ideas. Hear them out, discuss how to make their ideas work. If it doesn't violate Toastmasters' policies and procedures, and it furthers the club mission, what's the harm in trying something new?

Are Right, A Lot
Leaders are right a lot. They seek diverse perspectives and work to disconfirm their beliefs.

You rise in leadership by being successful in previous positions of leadership. You're successful by making good decisions and achieving results.

As a leader you always want to surround yourself with diverse people and thinking. I hate to break it to you but just being named a leader doesn't automatically increase your intelligence. Look for people that will challenge your thinking and beliefs. If your beliefs and choices can't withstand questioning .... how right could they be?

Learn and Be Curious
Leaders are never done learning and always seek to improve themselves. They are curious about new possibilities and act to to explore them.

One of the biggest complaints we hear at the District level is about having to attend club officer training twice a year or having to attend training for offices you've already held.

I have NEVER attended a club officer training where I didn't hear SOMETHING new. Either it was a completely new concept to me or a different spin on something I'd already heard. And if you ARE serving in an office you've held before, it's your obligation to give back and offer up your experience on what has worked (and not) for you.

Hire and Develop the Best
Leaders raise the performance bar with every hire and promotion. They recognize exception talent, and willingly move them throughout the organization. Leaders develop leaders and take seriously their role in coaching others.

One of the biggest challenges organizations face is the drought of future leaders. We have to keep going back to the same people, over and over again, because we're not doing our jobs, as leaders, and developing new leaders.

Always keep your eyes open for potential new leaders in your clubs. Encourage them to take on leadership positions. If they succeed, let your Area and Division Directors know about them as someone to keep their eyes on for future District leadership positions. GOOD leaders don't create followers, they create leaders.

Insist on the Highest Standards
Leaders have relentlessly high standards ... Leaders are continually raising the bar ....

Another challenge is the culture of "do the bare minimum". Toastmasters requires that a MINIMUM of 4 club officers attend club officer training. What happens? Clubs focus on the number "4" and a lot of them struggle to make even that. Area Directors are required to make a MINIMUM of two club visits per year. What happens? A significant number of clubs have no idea who their Area Director is! They're a stranger to the club. They don't know what's going on in the club. As a result, the District leadership is taken by surprise when they find out a club is closing.

People will do what you expect and demand of them. Remember the movie "Stand and Deliver"?

Think Big
Thinking small is a self-fulfilling prophecy ...

I'm sure that, growing up, all of us heard some variation on the old saying, "Aim for the stars. Even if you miss, you'll still land pretty high." Chances are, in high school, you knew EXACTLY what you needed on the final exam to get a passing grade. "All I need is an 85!" you might have said to yourself. And, chances are, you got somewhere close to that grade.

The problem is, had you aimed higher you probably would have EASILY achieved that 85 instead of JUST making it. "We just need TWO more new members to achieve Distinguished club status!" Why limit yourself like that? Every club should start off every year BELIEVING they can be a President's Distinguished club. There's no reason why they can't. You've probably heard on financial advertisements on television, "Past results are no guarantee of future performance." EXACTLY! Just because your club hasn't BEEN Distinguished in a decade is NO reason why it CAN'T be one!

Earn Trust
Leaders listen attentively, speak candidly, and treat others respectfully. They are vocally self-critical, even when doing so is awkward or embarrassing. Leaders do not believe their or their team's body odor smells of perfume. They benchmark themselves and their teams against the best.

TRUST will make you, or break you, as a leader. Think about a person in your past that's broken the trust you held in them. Did you ever REALLY trust them, completely, again? I'd be willing to bet you didn't. It's the same with leaders. Always, always, ALWAYS keep your promises to your team. And don't promise things you're not sure you can deliver. Once that trust is lost - you're done as a leader.

Leaders should be the first ones to 'fess up and admit when they screwed up. Doing so helps establish trust and credibility with your team. It helps create a culture where everyone feels comfortable admitting when they made a mistake.

Dive Deep
Leaders operate at all levels, stay connected to the details, audit frequently, and are skeptical when metrics and anecdote differ. No task is beneath them.

At the District level, metrics are very important. Some of you think District leaders are even a little obsessed with them! But with geographically diverse organizations, you simply can't be everywhere. When you go to the doctor, the very FIRST thing they do is take your vital signs - right? To the TRIO, the dashboard gives the vital signs on the clubs throughout the District.

Have Backbone; Disagree and Commit
Leaders are obligated to respectfully challenge decisions when they disagree ... They do not compromise .... Once a decision is determined, they commit wholly.

If you disagree with decisions that are made by people above you in leadership, it's your DUTY to challenge those decisions. But do so respectfully. The leaders above you are doing the best they can and I'm pretty sure they believed they were acting in the best interests of the organization when they made that decision.

There will be times when factors outside of your knowledge affect decision-making. Good leaders will let you know that. There will be times, here and there, where that's not possible. When a decision has been made by someone above you in the chain of command, it's your obligation, as a leader in that organization, to support that decision publicly. If you undercut and undermine the leaders above you .... the people below you will undermine and undercut YOU eventually.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

10 Leadership Lessons From Hal Moore

The Golden Circle

R-Factors