4 leadership tips from Colin Powell

Powell says he continues to use the same management principles he learned as a 21-year-old in the Army. Leadership is all about followers, according to Powell. You need to put your followers — or in the case of restaurants, your staff — in the best best position to things done. Give them a sense of mission in addition to goals, and make sure you have communicated to them what you believe in.

Here are Powell’s top tips for being a great leader:

Take care of your troops. Give them resources, technology and training.

Be infectious. Why would anyone follow you otherwise? Good leaders inspire, they don’t just motivate. “People are searching for this kind of passion in every organization,” said Powell.

Recognize performance. Promotions and financial benefits work, but the best recognition is more personal. Tell someone, “You’re doing a great job” or “I couldn’t do my job without you.” Let people know that you see them as essential members of their team, no matter what their job is.

It’s not all about the soft stuff. When people are not performing, you have to let them know about it. Your good employees always know who isn’t carrying their fair share of the load and they want the leader to do something about it. If you don’t, you lose their respect. Also, don’t reorganize around the problem. Either retrain someone or fire them.

At the end of his speech, Powell took questions from the crowd, one of which was “What makes you a loyal customer?” Powell reported that he always wants to be treated with respect and courtesy. When someone in retail or restaurants pays immediate attention to him and seems genuinely interested, that means a lot. That courtesy would inspire him to become one of your loyal customers.