Welcome Baywalk readers to the March edition of "It's all about Focus" on Baywalk.com. This month we continue our new millennium articles with the continuation of our series on leadership. I hope you enjoy: "Humble Success"

During a recent trip, I was reading a book, which posed questions regarding our personal lives and our conduct toward our loved ones. Successful leaders often face great difficulty in managing their relationships at home. The success and deference given to them by their employees as a corporate leader often creates an expectation for this same treatment at home. When the leader returns home and is treated as just Dad/Mom or Husband/Wife, leaders often choke on their pride when trying to problem solve with their family members. It is a humbling process for a corporate leader to come home and realize that as "mom or dad," they have to prove themselves all over again at home. By cloaking ourselves in humility, we are best prepared to serve as leaders of our families.

To Serve.

As corporate leaders we serve our company and our employees in many ways. How we serve is often a determinant of how our employees perceive their role within the organization. When polling employees, the word "serve" is not generally in the top five list of adjectives they use to describe their job responsibilities. Further proof of serve's absence in corporate culture is found in the emphasis placed on titles rather than promotional dollars by employees. The focus is on status and title. Employees want to derive respect from their title, instead of their accomplishments. The corporate world of today has many "individuals" employed by the corporation that are utilizing their skills to achieve their personal career goals. Corporate service is not so much a job, as a stepping stone to a personal goal.

The concept of service is one that is not often heard in the halls of today's organizations, nor considered a key component by new hires in their search for personal career growth. I often hear corporate leaders discussing their frustrations with their employees and their attitudes toward work. The frustration leads to strained employer/employee relationships; which ultimately leads to employee turnover either by resignation or termination.

Unfortunately, the same "choking on pride" problem that occurs at home is the root of much corporate performance issues. I have too often observed both corporate leaders and bottom rung employees exhibit the same "I'm too good to do the job" attitude. Pride stands in the way of "serving" their company and becomes the obstacle to both corporate and personal growth/success.

Being a humble servant/employee in today's world/organization is not an easy task. Serving is not a concept that is in vogue. Yet, our primary responsibility as an employee is "to serve."

• To serve our leaders.
• To serve stockholders/owners.
• To serve our employees.
• To serve our customers.

Consider the following: Leaders are most often judged by their employees not by their accomplishments; but by how they lead. A leader who leads with passion and humility creates a wonderful model for his/her employees to emulate.

Service with humility. A leadership formula for the new millennium.

See you next month!

Frank Stevens, a partner with Navigant Consulting, helps businesses improve their operating performance. Visit their web page at Navigantconsulting.com and contact him at either fstevens@pcit.com or (714) 544-2753.