As a Leader you have a major impact on the culture of your organisation.  The behaviours you display and the symbols you present to your team and customers say a lot about who you are and what you stand for.  Your behaviours can provide light and inspiration, or cast a shadow over your team.

After years of observing organisations and teams on their customer focus journey, there are invariably 3 behaviours that truly customer focused leaders exhibit – they connect with customers, they share their passion for customers, and develop strategies that focus on the customer. So, if you’re working to build a customer focused business, how can you inspire your team to join you on the journey?  How can you ensure that you’re providing light, rather than casting a shadow? 

1.     Connecting with customers at every opportunity

Customer focused leaders spend time with customers whenever theycan.  It’s not a once-a-month KPI, they do it because they enjoy it.  They embrace the happy and the disappointed, seek out feedback, and seek to understand how their organisation can improve.  Customers invigorate and inspire them.

2.     Sharing their passion for customers with their people

Customer focused leaders consistently demonstrate their passion for customers to their people.  They openly share customer stories, support their people in the complaints process and they help streamline systems and processes to make it easier for their people to deliver an outstanding experience.

 3.     Developing strategies that focus on the customer

Customer focused leaders understand that they’re in business to help solve customer problems.  Their strategies embrace the customer perspective and ask ‘How can we help our customers to…’ rather than starting with ‘How can we make more/ sell more/ increase…’.

Fundamentally, a truly customer focused leader lets their actions speak louder than words.  Their strategy, symbols, systems and behaviours demonstrate their unquestionable commitment, regardless of whether someone is watching.  They’re customer centric and they live customer focus – and this commitment shines through to inspire their team.

What are you doing to demonstrate your passion for the customer?  Are your behaviours shining a light, or casting a shadow?