Page 244 - Just Promoted A 12 Month Road Map for Success in Your New Leadership Role

Settling into Your Renewing Organization 229

the discomfort of organizational surgery and long-term therapy. Organizational
health wellness and maintenance involves uncompromising standards and
never-ending, everyday effective management. It also involves embracing the
value of continuous improvement for your team and organization.
Derek had worked hard to reorganize the service at his deli restaurant.
Working with his experienced employees, he had established guidelines for
customer service. Some of the guidelines included these:

■ Because customers like to be acknowledged and they like to order
quickly, approach them with a smile and a menu as they are sitting down.
■ Take their order as quickly as possible. Regular customers usually know
what they want. People hate to wait.
■ Get the order immediately to the kitchen. Put your name on the order
form so the cook can page you.
■ Water, bread, butter, and beverages fill the time while waiting for
the order.
■ Check on the order from time to time with the cook. Don’t let the
order get lost.
■ If the order is slow, talk to the customer. Assure him that he has not
been forgotten.
■ When it is busy, divide the tables among servers so no customers are
overlooked.
■ If you see a customer looking around, inquire, even if it is not your table.
Help each other to keep the customers happy.

In spite of these guidelines, there was constant slippage in service. Derek
had to constantly monitor the floor, even with his best servers, to make sure
they did not slip back. It required constant vigilance and supervision to main-
tain the new standards.

FINE-TUNING YOUR LEADERSHIP ROLE
AND YOUR ORGANIZATION
As you near the end of your first year, step back from your day-to-day respon-
sibilities to reflect on your new role. Reflect on what you have accomplished.
Moving up is never easy. You’ve had to tap dance on a lot of marbles! Personal
reflection often results in a new awareness: “I didn’t realize that we had done
that much.”