I’ve just returned from a soul-soothing, mind-refreshing, body-rejuvenating week filled with warm temps and glorious sunshine ...  talk about a great way to create a smile!

Spring break was also an exercise in seeing the dramatic effect that smiles, or lack thereof, can have on people.  And, since leadership is our business, it’s particularly fitting to link the importance of ‘having a personality’ to leadership.  When I say leadership, it doesn’t have to mean the capital “L” Leader, as in leading people, but rather all leadership – doing your job, doing it well, and impacting your co-workers, your customers, and your clients in a positive and meaningful way so that they walk away from your interaction feeling like their ‘tank’ is a bit more filled up.

Example 1: We promised the kids a treat at the end of a long bike ride and we rode to a local ice cream shop.  This place was dedicated to serving ice cream.  It was designed for fun – crazy colors everywhere and huge jars of every kind of candy imaginable!  It’s located in a vacation spot and clearly designed to serve the vacationing family at the beach.  This is place where people should enter with no worries, and leave with no worries, only being that much happier with an ice cream in hand (or belly)! 

Unfortunately, the young woman working in the ice cream shop was an enthusiastic and friendly as a rock.  She didn’t respond to our hellos, wasn’t thrilled about offering my son a sample of icecream, scooped away with a scowl on her face, and didn’t respond to our “please” or “thank you” as she served us.  We had entered the shop joking and smiling and by the time we reached our seats with our icecream, the wind had been taken out of our sails a bit.  I watched as customer after customer was treated this same way.  It was a complete downer.  If this woman had bothered to smile and talk even just a little bit to her customers every one of us would have had a different experience.

Example 2: A few days later we were in the security line at the airport.  The TSA agent checking our ID and boarding passes didn’t respond at all to our cheery “good morning” but rather responded by chomping on her gum and passing us along.  She literally didn’t say a single word to us.   I recognize that the security line at the airport is a more serious business than the ice cream shop, and I want our TSA agents to be diligent and professional, but there is nothing that dictates that an agent can’t have a semblance of a personality. Again, I watched as passengers around us dealt with that ‘little bit of attitude.’ 

Fortunately, our trip was also filled with great examples of ‘leaders’ who smiled, showed some personality, and went out of their way to ensure that those with whom they interacted left that interaction feeling a bit more rejuvenated or appreciated!  The flight attendants on Delta, the waiter at the restaurant, the new friends we made on the beach … what a difference sharing a smile makes!

Yes, leadership is so much more than smiling. It’s integrity, judgment, communication, discernment, wisdom, strategy, motivation, feedback … and it’s smiling! 

As a leader, are you showing some personality to your team?  Are you smiling? Are you talking? Are you acknowledging their presence and their accomplishments? Are you giving a feeling that you thankful that they are there? Are you intentionally ‘filling their tank’ with your interactions when appropriate?

Never underestimate the importance of a smile!  What do you think?