The Delight Factor
What would your business be like if you prioritised delight today?
Before we get started, did you catch last week’s Guest Writer, ?
Justin is a Conscious Leadership Coach from NYC and shared a coaching tool you can use to better understand your leadership style - and evolve your leadership.
The Delight Factor
When was the last time you went out of your way to delight someone?
We all love to feel special, and when someone goes out of their way for you, the feeling can be wonderful.
And we remember.
Early in my career after a two-hour grilling on the witness stand in court as the company’s representative in a tricky discrimination Employment Tribunal, I received a handwritten card in the post. It was a short note, signed by the company’s leadership team, praising specifically how I had embraced the challenge.
The act of signing and posting the card cost almost nothing in monetary terms. But that didn’t matter.
I was delighted.
There is a lot to be said about delighting and exceeding the expectations of those you work with; creating a positive and memorable experience that leaves a lasting impression long beyond the immediate term.
The challenge is that for most people, delighting others at work often takes the form of doing a better, quicker, or more impactful job.
Because, realistically that is what you’re there to do.
But delighting others means going above and beyond what is expected, taking the time to understand their needs and desires, and finding creative and innovative ways to meet and even surpass them.
It might be as simple as going out of your way to show a little more appreciation, sending a handwritten note to someone, or doing something meaningful for them.
Think how good it would feel to be genuinely delighted by one of your team today.
And what would it be like if you prioritized delight today?
You’ll find four quick kickstarters below.
Reflect: Think about the most recent time you’ve been delighted by something or someone.
What was your experience?
What did you think, feel and see?
What was the impact?
Lead: The people around you are not you, and what delights those you lead is unlikely to be the same as it is for you.
Perhaps one person in your team would love public praise. Or perhaps they might not favour strong displays of emotion or public thank you’s as much as others.
Think about the people who work in your team. What would bring them a similar sense of delight different from each other?
Here’s a super short exercise to help:
Make a list of five people around you at work. Peers, managers, and team members.
Write down alongside each of their names something that would delight each of them.
Then do it.
Scale: Bring your Leadership Group together and map out your internal and external stakeholders.
What would delight look like to them at a strategic level?
What would be happening in your business to delight them, different from what is happening right now?
What would mindset, skill, and experience would it take to make that reality?
Embed: For many companies, customer engagement happens through a personal connection. So, if you want your customers to have great experiences and be delighted, your team are the way forward.
This piece by McKinsey and Co. describes the challenge of translating boardroom vision into front-line action to transform your customer experience and has actions to take to help you bridge the gap.
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