Success Stories
The Leader of a Travel Company Inspires and Motivates His Staff through Personal Stories
Tom is the CEO of a travel and hospitality conglomerate. He is highly regarded by his team as a leader with integrity, determination, and insight. His staff loves him - employees of all ranks frequently comment that he is the perfect leader because he symbolizes the culture of the company - adventurous, ambitious, and motivating.
But Tom wasn't always so admired at his company. A few years ago, Tom came to us with concerns. His company had reached a plateau. Sales and revenues were stagnant, and Tom felt his employees were tired. And he had big goals - goals to double revenues over the next 5 years. That required Tom to motivate and inspire people to do things they'd never done before.
Tom wasn't comfortable with his stage presence. He'd presented a million times throughout his career but he still felt hesitant, even awkward, in business presentations. Feedback from his colleagues confirmed it - they said he was "fine" on the podium - but that was it. He wasn't the shining star he needed to be in front of audiences. Tom had an annual meeting coming up with his entire staff. He wanted to express his passion as the CEO of the company.
During our personal history interview with Tom, we discussed what had motivated him to become as successful as he was. Tom talked about a challenge he'd faced at the age of 19 when he decided to enter a sailboat racing competition. He'd only sailed a boat two or three times before, but loved it. When he heard about the competition, he was intrigued, but not so sure about his ability to compete against veteran sailors. A mentor convinced him to enter the race and give it his all. During the race, he encountered some problems - problems that made him want to turn around and head back to shore. He persevered and finished the race, despite these obstacles. Tom learned a lot about how to do things that are very difficult, and to then to persevere and succeed. He described the day as a turning point for him in becoming confident and determined to achieve anything.
This was a perfect metaphor for what the company needed to do. To achieve their big goals, they needed to overcome obstacles, go out on a limb and persevere. After a lot of work with Tom on polishing the story, he told it at his annual meeting. Tom got up and spoke with passion, and it was a powerful analogy to the audience. For the first time, people said they really understood that the new goals of the company weren't just additions to their to-do lists, but something big, and they were excited to be a part of it.
Throughout the next few months, Tom continued to tell stories to his team. All of them helped the staff understand and appreciate what it was going to take to move the company forward and what was expected of them individually to get there. Hearing such personal stories from their leader helped people connect with their own goals. In turn, teams started significantly improving their operations and morale was boosted around the company. Tom's reputation soared as people saw him not just as the CEO of the company, but as the ultimate symbol of the goals for their organization.
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