Willingness is the great differentiator between ordinary and extraordinary leaders. Whenever I get the opportunity to speak on the topic of leadership, I share this definition:
“Leadership is the ability and willingness to better others and the world we live in.”
There are two key words in this definition…ability and willingness. Each and every person possesses the ability to be an extraordinary leader. The question is do we have the willingness?
The Willing
I get the honor of serving my hometown of Acworth, Georgia as City Manager. In that role, I have the awesome responsibility to oversee the daily operations of our city. With that responsibility comes the incredible opportunity to serve with some of the most willing people I know.
Winter Storm Cora just passed through the State of Georgia on Friday. The Storm impacted many other states in its path as well. It resulted in the postponement of major sporting events, businesses being unable to open, and school closures.
Weather patterns like this can wreak havoc on power infrastructure, create hazardous road conditions, and add complexity to an already complex world of public safety. People were advised by federal, state, and local authorities to stay off the roads and only travel if absolutely necessary.
For us, when everything else closed, our team went to work. Here are a few thoughts I would like to share with you on our team’s willingness to serve others:
The Willing Prepare
Our incident preparedness team met early in the week to establish the plan. They spent the remainder of the week preparing. The team had barricades placed in strategic locations for quick deployment where steep slopes have historically resulted in road closures, trimmed branches near power lines that were a potential threat, had public safety vehicles outfitted with tire chains if needed, plans for phones to roll over to a command center to be answered by people in the event of power outages, stockpiles of salt and sand mixtures, and much….much more. In a nutshell, they were prepared.
In leadership, the willing prepare. In the face of literal or figurative storms, great leaders see them coming and get ready. They leave nothing to chance.
The Willing Execute
On the day of the storm, the team arrived at 6:30 a.m. We had Police, Power, Public Works, Parks, and Customer Service team members ready and willing to execute the plan. The snow started to fall around 7:00 a.m., it was game time!
The Police on patrol reported to the street crew problematic areas that needed to be treated. The incident preparedness team worked hard on social media to keep the public up to date on advisories, forecasts, and hazardous road conditions.
Right about the time we were going to serve dinner to the crews, the phones lit up. We had our first power outage of the day.
The Power crews were immediately dispatched to find the issue. As planned, the phones rolled over to all the desks within the building. All who were able answered the calls, took the person’s address, and informed them the crews were already in action.
Most callers were surprised to speak to a live person. They would have been even more surprised if they knew they were talking to our Mechanic, Public Works Director, Stormwater Division Manager, Deputy City Manager, Chief of Police, and even a City Councilman!
The Power crews were rested and on standby for this very moment. They were ready and willing to execute. Within 26 minutes of the first call, the source of the outage was discovered (large limb on a line), the issue was resolved, and the lights were back on to 1,378 customers. On a sub-freezing night, that brought great comfort and peace to our community.
Plans are only words on a sheet of paper if there is not a willingness to execute. Great leaders possess that very willingness to run in when everyone else runs out. Execution brings a plan to life, without it, a plan is just mere words on a sheet of paper.
Conclusion
There was a sense of calm amongst the chaos that day. Why? Because anxiety doesn’t exist in the prepared, only the unprepared. A good plan negates pressure. Our team willingly prepared and was ready to execute.
The majority of the team spent the night. As everyone emerged from their comfy cots, their hard work over the last 24 hours left very little to do. It was time to send them and their willingness back to their families.
As we wrapped up breakfast, I had the opportunity to address the team. I was able to share how uncommon they were and how proud of them I was. Most of all, I thanked them for their willingness. Their willingness to serve others. I firmly believe that willingness engrained in each one of their hearts is our team’s greatest differentiator. It’s our Sustainable, Competitive Advantage.
Get yourself a willing team, fueled with a heart of service for others, and anything is possible.