In leadership one principle stands above all: You need your people more than they need you. Another way of saying this is that you get paid for what your people do, not for what you do.
If you only internalize one lesson about leadership, make this the one. A basic understanding that you need your people more than they need you is the single most important leadership lesson you will ever learn. In our leadership seminars, we spend more time on this principle than any other concept. Why? Because until you get this—and I mean really make this principle part of your heart and soul—you cannot be a great leader. No exceptions.
I ran head on into this principle as a young manager. I’d just been promoted to district manager in charge of the company’s Augusta, Georgia, location. On my team were an assistant manager and five route service drivers. Our route service drivers did just that; they drove delivery trucks around the area and delivered our products and services to customers. Prior to my promotion, the regional office had conducted a sales contest, the reward for which was a cruise to the Bahamas for all qualifiers. All of the men on my team qualified for the trip except my assistant manager.
, a new world of possibilities opened up to me. After discovering his personal productivity tips, I knew the way I worked was never going to be the same.
