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Leaders: Can You Pass The Caller ID Test?

Forbes Coaches Council
POST WRITTEN BY
Mike Ettore

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A regional vice president (RVP) at a professional services company ran into an unforeseen problem a few years back — one that spiraled into a bigger problem of his own making. There was an issue with a major client’s billing status, and the client wanted it addressed immediately. Not two days from now. Not tomorrow. Immediately!

To set things right, the RVP called the billing department at his company’s headquarters. He had to enlist the help of a specific billing coordinator with the authority to change the account’s status. She was, quite literally, the only person who could do this.

This woman was very conscientious and competent. But when the call came in, she was about to step out for lunch. She looked back at the phone on her desk, read the RVP’s name on the caller ID, and decided to ignore the call. She’d deal with him later, and the problem wasn’t fixed immediately. She returned the RVP’s call a few hours later, toward the tail end of the established standard for a response to these types of support requests.

Getting the billing problem fixed took several hours — and the client was not pleased. The RVP had failed the "Caller ID Test.”

There are predictable consequences of how you treat others.

You may not have heard of the Caller ID Test, but you’ve taken it hundreds or thousands of times in your career. The key to passing it is being aware that it exists — and routinely conducting yourself in a manner that incentivizes your colleagues to pick up the phone, answer that email, address the support ticket or respond to a text message as soon as possible.

In this instance, the billing coordinator had a reputation for being exceptionally responsive and supportive; she often bent over backward to help others resolve issues quickly. This particular RVP, however, was known to be unreasonable and condescending. He often inspired a default, visceral reaction in the support personnel who interacted with him and made them think, "I don’t want to deal with this guy right now. He’s rude and difficult, and I know he’s going to berate me instead of discussing how we can resolve this problem. I’ll call him later; I’m in no hurry to receive another one of his 'beatings.'"

In contrast, the other RVPs in this company usually addressed the billing coordinators with respect and kindness. Because they treated their support teammates professionally, the coordinators reacted with a sense of urgency when they saw the names of these RVPS on their caller IDs. Their reaction was, "This is one of our best teammates, and we love working with her. She’s in a jam with one of her biggest clients, and we're going to drop everything get her problem fixed, ASAP!"

The leadership lesson here — treating others, regardless of their role and seniority, with professionalism and respect — is so well known that it almost seems like a cliché. But if it’s so commonly understood, why do so many leaders fail the Caller ID Test?

Leadership requires awareness, commitment and consistency.

Leadership is a skill that can be learned, but reading about specific techniques and tactics only goes so far. Learning leadership is not exactly like a programmer learning C++ or a law student mastering the intricacies of contracts. Leaders must succeed with people. And the best of these leaders learn fundamental concepts that they routinely practice and incorporate into their careers and daily lives. They remain self-aware and improve and refine their behavior until it comes naturally, thereby bettering their career trajectory and their relationships with others. And these lessons aren’t just applied in the workplace; they fundamentally change who you are and how you interact with everyone.

This is why so many bad leaders routinely fail the Caller ID Test.

On an intellectual, rational level, most leaders understand that co-workers, including the individuals who are subordinate to them, should be treated with professionalism and respect. They’ve heard the maxim that “you catch more flies with honey than vinegar," and they’re probably familiar with the Golden Rule. But life, stress and personality traits get in the way when the rubber meets the road. Some leaders revert to a combative, self-centered and unprofessional approach when dealing with others — especially with those who don’t have the power to fire them.

A leader who is otherwise skilled at their job and generates good results can often get away with this behavior — for a time. But these individuals significantly limit their growth as leaders, and many of them eventually run into career-limiting problems of their own making. So, if you aspire to excellence as a leader, I encourage you to do four things:

1. Think about the interactions you’ve had with personnel at your organization. What reactions might they have when your name shows up on the caller ID or your email lands in their inbox? Are their responses helpful and quick? Or do the calls go straight to voicemail, and the emails remain unanswered for hours or even days?

2. Commit to treating people with respect and responding to their needs with energy. It ups the odds that they will do the same for you.

3. Don’t view the advice to treat others with respect as something reserved for certain situations or just the people you need something from. Truly commit to this behavior and display it daily to people above you, below you and laterally on the organizational chart.

4. No one is perfect, of course. Stressful situations, impatience and temperament may cause you to slip. But move on from this failure with humility and renewed commitment, and work to repair any relationships you may have damaged.

The lessons of this story are obvious: Leaders should treat others with respect and respond to their needs with professionalism and urgency. In kind, they will likely receive the same response. The Caller ID Test is one test that is easy to pass if you lead by example!

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