Super-Serve Your Sphere of Influence

As reported in today's Chicago Tribune, ESPN will, starting in April, "launch its first Web site devoted to local sports fans." While this may be excellent news for sports fans here in the Chicagoland area, that's not what prompted this post. Rather it was how Marc Horine, vice president with ESPN digital media, spoke about it:

"At its core, the mission is simple: to super-serve Chicago sports fans."

To "super-serve" -- that's what appealed to me, particularly how it applies to leadership and being a better leader.

Recall a prior GottaGettaBLOG! post about an executive's sphere of influence and ...

• Consider how you, as a leader, might "super-serve" Up the Chain (your boss, Board, and key stakeholders).
• Consider how you, as a leader, might "super-serve" Employees (your direct reports, their direct reports, and other personnel).
• Consider how you, as a leader, might "super-serve" External Contacts (customers, vendors, and other outside partners).
• Consider how you, as a leader, might "super-serve" Co-Workers (peers, team members, other internal contacts).

Consider what you might do differently -- read: better -- if you approached your leadership responsibilities from the "super-serve" perspective ... not just as a servant leader, but as a SUPER-servant leader.

What might it look like if you tried that on today?

• What might you say differently?
• What might you ask differently?
• What might you do differently?
• How might you listen differently?
• Who else might you talk with?
• Where else would you spend your time?
• What else would you think about?
• What else would you likely learn or be interested about?

Similarly, what might it look like if others in your sphere of influence tried that on today?

• What might they say differently?
• What might they ask differently?
• What might they do differently?
• How might they listen differently?
• Who else might they talk with?
• Where else would they spend their time?
• What else would they think about?
• What else would they likely learn or be interested about?

Super-serving doesn't really take all that much extra time or effort. It's more about where you're "coming from" with the things you already think, feel, say, and do. If you "come from" a respectful place, it's easier to be all-the-more respectful. If you "come from" an inquisitive place, it's easier to be all-the-more inquisitive, etc.

So, too, if you "come from" a judgmental place, it's easier to be all-the-more judgmental. But that's not really super-serving anyone, now, is it?!