Telvista
Start the day with a smile.
“One of the things I have been doing for the past twenty years is to really listen to people,” says Telvista’s Higinio Sanchez. “Treat everyone you talk with—the security guard, the vice president of a company, your daughter—as important, because they are important.
“I run a technology company that connects people one-to-one over the telephone and the Web, and for me, the most important aspect of our business is not hardware or software, it is the humanware —the people.
“Leaders are not born. What makes you a leader is other people. People-make a leader, and we cannot become leaders by ourselves.
“You cannot learn to be a leader. You need to live as a leader to become one. Show yourself to others as you see yourself in the mirror every day—with integrity, humanity, and humbleness. Once you start doing that, you become the kind of person others want to emulate and follow, and then the leader arrives.
“Of course, there are many skills and abilities you can learn from others. You can be 80 years old and still learning. My goal is to learn something new every day for as long as I live.
“As a leader, you must roll up your sleeves and get involved. I say hi to people every morning. The more you talk with people, the more they feel they know you, and the better you get to know them.
“Support your team in every situation. Sometimes you want to be the leader of a company that never has problems. But you need to support your team when things are good and when they are not good, to be there for them whatever the situation. As the leader, you should take all the responsibility and give others all the credit.
“Start the day with a smile. Recently I got into a hotel elevator occupied by three men, who were obviously together but not talking. ‘Good morning,’ I said. They just stared at me and said nothing back. That’s not the right way to act, I thought.
“I almost let it go, because I was afraid of what their reaction would be if I pressed the issue. But I did. ‘Hey guys, don’t you say good morning back when someone says it to you? I know you must have a lot of things on your mind, but change your attitude.’ They smiled and laughed. ‘Today is a present,’ I told them. ‘It’s a gift from God.’
“Don’t rule from the castle; rule from the front lines. Don’t stay in your office, which is a very long way from the front line. You need to be on the front line every day. Whatever your company is doing, do it yourself, with your team. Lead by example.
“I always share my weaknesses with my people. They know the things I do not do well. By showing them my weaknesses, I get them to help me become better, and I help them be better, too.
“For nine years I have been giving a motivational speech to all new employees. In this speech, I show a picture of a sperm cell. I tell them, ‘When you started life, there were 300 million sperm cells all trying for the same egg, but only one made it. That’s you. So we all come to life already being leaders. You were already a leader the moment you were born.”