Lessons in Leadership from a Saint Named Valentino
Monday, February 14th, 2011
Some of the most influential teachers in leadership are the ones whose names will never be found in the biography section of a library or the glossary of a textbook. It’s almost always the individuals present during the small dots on our resume who made the biggest impacts and as a result went down in our job history. When you look back, do you not find that the people who sparked the velocity of your career on its path were the same people who built up your endurance for the long run?
True leadership is not just about delivering instant inspiration even though that’s what usually makes a name for someone. True leaders are those who also have the ability to inspire us to effectively enact our values in every decision we make, every word we speak, and every action we carry out for the rest of our lives.
Legendary Michigan Wolverines head football coach Bo Schembechler writes about this kind of leadership in his book “Bo’s Lasting Lessons.” Three lines particularly stand out:
- When you’re just starting out, it’s better to make peanuts for a great leader than it is to get some big salary from a mediocre one.
- Big money doesn’t matter. Big names don’t matter. Good organizations matter. Good bosses matter.
- If you want to become a great leader, you need to prepare yourself to become a great leader, and the best way to do that is to study greater leaders.
Reading over these three statements, who comes to you mind? It’s probably not the President of a nation, the CEO of a Fortune 500 company, or some other figure head with an expensive suit and brilliant speech writer. Of course this is not to say that these types of leaders aren’t inspiring – they are, but it’s highly doubtful we were ever close enough to them to have our deepest values invoked.
For me personally, a team leader at the Whole Foods Market in Beverly Hills comes to mind. His name was Valentino and he ran the Specialty Department which housed the store’s cheese, deli meats, wine, beer, and kitchenware. I spent a year and a half working there and while my wage was modest, the lessons in leadership from my fellow team members were priceless, especially Valentino who was the living definition of what it is to exude passion naturally at all levels of business.
When a customer came up to his counter, barely a second would pass before he’d greet him or her with genuine enthusiasm. The tone of his voice saying “What can I do for you, sir?” or “How can I help you today, mam?” was never of a routine quality but always sounded sincere.
When the holidays approached, he always made sure his section was showing spirit with Christmas lights or bunny ears, artfully stacked champagne bottles for New Year’s Eve and Valentine’s Day or game day displays of cheese trays and six packs erected just in time for playoff seasons.
He always made sure that the music playing in our work environment was uplifting and energizing.
When he demoed gourmet goods, he didn’t just throw a bunch of cheese cubes on a tray with some toothpicks. He’d grab the phone and make an overhead announcement calling all customers to stop by his section accompanied by a detailed description of all the deliciousness awaiting them with the rhythm of his speak as smooth and savory as the sample being offered.
As I happened to walk a considerable length to work and oftentimes hours before the morning shift clock-in time of 5:00 am, Valentino who shared my mountainous commute would pull over every single morning he passed me to offer a ride. My pride never allowed me to accept but his compassion never allowed him to stop asking.
More than all this though, he wanted his team to share in his passion and I know this because on my first day working in his department, he had written out two directions for me in a big black marker: “TASTE ANYTHING and ASK ABOUT EVERYTHING!” He also taught me how to make a healthy habit of cleaning up your area at the start of every shift because disorder was inevitable – especially when customer rushes are part of the daily business – so if you can’t avoid a mess, minimize it as much as possible beforehand.
Valentino’s lessons are as applicable in my current job sitting at a desk as they were in my former job standing behind a counter. In fact, here at entreQuest, we are committed as a company to a value defined as demonstrate a relentless passion for what we do. If I could, I’d ask Valentino to be a guest speaker on the issue. Sadly, that will not happen as Valentino died last week from a rather sudden onset of a very aggressive illness.
And so as the training tip issued by Coach Bo Schembechler stated, studying the great leaders from all pieces of your past career path will help shape you to become a great leader too. Cherish especially the lessons that were simple in substance but sustaining in spirit and try hard to instill them in everything that you do. After all, the best way to remember those that gave value to us is to provide that value to others. That’s why the legacies of great leaders never die with them but continue to be passed down from one career path to another.
Kristen Zatina is a writing specialist at entreQuest with an interest in everyday client experiences on which businesses can capitalize.
(Information Source: “Bo’s Lasting Lessons” by Bo Schembechler and John U. Bacon. New York: Business Plus, 2007.)
