Meeting People Where They Are: Leadership Lessons for Field Service Pros

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Welcome to another episode of The Profit Roadmap, the premier podcast for field service pros looking to grow their business and stay on top of the latest trends. In this episode, we're diving into the world of leadership with our special guest, Terence Cummings, General Manager of Field Services at Xplor Technologies.

In this episode, we cover:

• The true nature of leadership and why it's not for everyone
• How to maintain culture across multiple locations
• The importance of meeting people where they are
• Why the 80/20 rule might be hurting your business
• Strategies for developing future leaders
• The critical role of coaching in field services

About Our Guest

Terence Cummings brings over 20 years of leadership experience to the table. Starting his career in sales, he discovered a passion for developing and coaching others. Before joining Xplor Technologies, Terence spent 15+ years in various leadership roles where he honed his leadership philosophy and approach.

The True Nature of Leadership

According to Terence, leadership is more demanding than most people realize. "Being a leader is exhausting," he explains. "The pressure that comes from driving a business, bringing people along on the journey, and showing up every day to keep people inspired and motivated is a very daunting task."

He compares leadership to being a parent rather than an aunt or uncle: "When you're an aunt or uncle, you get to play with the kids and when they're sleepy and fussy, you get to go home. When you're a parent, there is no going home."

Key Leadership Priorities

Terence outlines three main priorities for any leader: strategy, driving results, and coaching and developing people. The time spent on each priority shifts based on your leadership level. A frontline manager might spend 60% of their time coaching, while a general manager focuses 70-80% of their effort on strategy. 

This flexibility in approach allows leaders to meet the needs of their position while maintaining consistency in their core responsibilities.

Breaking Away from Convention

One piece of traditional leadership advice Terence challenges is the famous 80/20 rule - spending 80% of your time with your top 20% performers. He believes this approach can cripple an organization by neglecting team members who need development. 

In field services, every technician represents your brand and impacts customer experience. When you focus exclusively on top performers, you risk delivering inconsistent service quality across your customer base.

Creating a Consistent Culture

For field service businesses managing teams across different locations, culture must be clearly defined and consistently executed. Terence emphasizes that cultural values should be as natural as breathing - something you do every day without question. 

This means establishing clear expectations and maintaining them across all locations and teams. The key is making these cultural standards non-negotiable and ensuring they're lived out in daily operations.

Coaching and Development

When it comes to developing team members, Terence advocates for a straightforward approach: either coach them up or coach them out. "I've never in my career fired anyone," Terence shares. "People fire themselves. People get let go because there's things within their role that they're not doing at the level that's expected." This philosophy emphasizes the importance of clear expectations and consistent feedback in developing team members.

Key Takeaways for Field Service Leaders

1. Meet People Where They Are: Understanding what motivates each team member and adapting your leadership style to individual needs is crucial for success. Not everyone follows the same path to growth, and effective leaders recognize and accommodate these differences.
2. Create a Safe Space for Growth: Building an environment where team members feel secure enough to make mistakes and learn from them is essential. This includes providing specific, timely feedback and having tough conversations when needed.
3. Maintain Consistent Culture: Culture isn't just about writing values on a wall - it's about living them every day. Define clear expectations, demonstrate them consistently, and never compromise on your cultural standards.

Learn More

Want to learn more about how Xplor Technologies can help your business? Be sure to check out their website at www.xplortechnologies.com for information about their field service management solutions.

Mentioned link:

• The Hard Thing About Hard Things

Related: Stand Out From The Competition with Mediagistic 

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Music: Summon the Rawk by Kevin MacLeod

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