Brad Stevens, president of basketball operations for the Boston Celtics, says, “The best leaders are warm and demanding.” He shares that the best leaders connect with, care about and invest in their people.
At Service Express, we recently received results from our employee engagement survey. We conduct an in-depth survey every two years, helping us analyze what we’re doing well and where we need to improve. We use this information to create initiatives to enhance our culture.
One thing that became clear from our survey is that a great culture and employee engagement aren’t built on just happy hours, parties or celebrations. Those are important and fun, but they’re not enough. Our employees told us that some of the key things for engagement are personal and professional development, career pathing, achieving results and career growth.
At Service Express, we aim to build a culture where people are challenged, stretched, and given opportunities to grow. To achieve this, we need leaders who are both warm and demanding. Warm leaders care deeply about their teams. The best leaders are also the most demanding because they care. They demand the best from their teams, provide resources, allow them to fail, and use those moments as learning opportunities.
When building a true culture, remember that celebrations are great, but true culture comes from having leaders who care, are demanding and create opportunities for their people.
