1/22/99
What an exciting day it was when [company] gave birth to a new
Unit! Cards and letters filled with stickers, gifts and kind words
from leaders all across the country arrived along with a visit from the
GL. The Unit was given training and encouragement like milk for an
infant by the GL as she tended to the needs of the unit. As the
visit by the GL came to a close, visions and DREAMS sprouted among the
members and a future SRVP was on her way! A confident new unit
leader was now in place.
It was not long before the leader was put to the test of
parenting as a few people were injured in the process of building the
unit. One member was unhappy about things and decided to keep it
inside hoping it would go away in time. Some members wanted to go
to a regional meeting as visitors but were told by the UL that it was a
bad idea. After all, she never went and made it to unit leader.
Like a crying child, the problems of the members were answered with a
hug and a kiss. The leader heard the cry but did not understand
them so the crying went on.
Frustrated, the UL made calls to her leader upset over all the
crying. The GL gave great advice to the UL, yet the baby cried.
"Are you doing your 2+2 calls?" asked the UL.
"Yes" said the baby and yet no bookings! "What can
I say" said the UL!
Over time the hungry baby got weak and sick! A negative attitude
illness moved in and infected all the members. The sick unit could
no longer help each other out and got worse. The UL tried to guess
at the problem and gave the GL a wrong symptoms. The GL did all
she could to save the baby, but by this time the negative attitude had
taken it's toll! The new unit along with all it's hopes and dreams
had died. Friends parted as enemies, candles went unsold and
unhappy customers got angry.
What could [company] have done? Nothing! What
could the GL have done? Nothing! What can you do about negative
attitudes? Nothing! They can only stop inside the person that
gives it a home!
What could the UL have done?
1. GO TO LEADER + REGIONAL MEETINGS! It does not matter
if you have to drive 10 hours, GO and GET HELP! You can't expect
your members to go to your meetings if you don't go to yours!
2. Communicate! That means to listen as well as talk!
We hear what we want to hear often! Repeat back the problem as YOU
UNDERSTAND it to make certain you understand what's being said!
Great leaders give great advise, however; if it is for a problem
different than you think, it's no good! If I say " I can't
get to a party next week and you tell me to do my 2+2, what good is
that? I didn't say, "I can't get a party" I said
" I can't get TO a party" ! Big difference! When a
person calls you about a problem the second time, REALLY THINK about
what the problem IS!
3. COOPERATE with each other! Don't let negative
thoughts cause you to use bad judgment! NEVER repay bad with bad!
What could the unit members do? All of the above! in
addition,
1) DON'T TELL ME YOU DID YOUR 2+2 CALLS WHEN YOU DON'T!
(Leaders are like parents when little kids tell a lie and you know that
they are lying. People that have not done there 2+2 don't know that it
works for a fact, so they lie about it thinking that they can get away
with it.) I had a girl tell me she made her 100 calls and got no
bookings. I asked to see the list! She could only find the first
14 names as the other page got placed in the trash. I sat down and
called all 14 names and said " I'm so and so's leader and I'm
trying to help her. Can you tell me why you didn't want to book a party
when she called you a few days ago? You guessed it, She only
called 2 of them!
2) Work WITH your leader and NOT against her! I wish I
could get people to call about bookings as easy as they call about
leader problems! One problem= 50 calls + 20 letters! GET
OVER IT! We are not perfect just like you! Let's work together to
get past it and get on with our dreams!
3) EXPLAIN YOURSELF WELL! Say what you mean! and mean
what you say! One day you will be a leader and need the support of
others! If your leader does not understand you say it another way.
We can't help you if we can't understand you!
4) GO TO MEETINGS!
5) BE POSITIVE!
A few kind words can heal a dying unit!
Hank
This page last
updated July 06, 2005
