At times, Mark Lettelleir and his employees at Modern Business Associates have experienced a huge influx of clients and many last-minute tasks had to be completed, resulting in all-nighters for the employees at the human resources company. But Lettelleir isn’t wishing them luck as he’s walking out the door. Instead, he’s getting his hands dirty with the rest of the team.
“Being a leader is also being somebody who is willing to dig in, and those people respect you and they know you’ve walked a mile in their shoes already,” says Lettelleir, founder and CEO of the company, which posted approximately $450 million in 2008 revenue.
Lettelleir isn’t helping out because he doesn’t trust his people. He’s not doing it because his people aren’t capable of completing the task. And he’s not doing it because he doesn’t have anything better to do.
He’s doing it because he is part of the team, and if that’s what it takes to help make the company successful, then so be it.
“I was here all night with them helping move data over here and rolling up my sleeves and doing whatever needed to be done,” he says. “Did I have great people here to do it? Yes. Could I have gone home and gone to sleep? Yeah. But I don’t think that sends the right message to your people.”
Instead, employees get the message that he is ready to tackle any challenge, which rubs off on them.
“They were willing to go the extra mile, because they knew that I was willing to do the same thing and that we were going to do it together as a team,” he says. “I just think it sends a message that we are all on the same team and we are all willing to pitch in and help wherever we need to.”
Pitching in is just one way to help create a team environment. If you reach out to every level of the company, you’ll find good ideas that can help your company grow.