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What does customer service have to do with leadership? More than you might think.

In Episode 5 of ELT All Team Meeting, James Moore and James Songster explore why customer service isn’t just a department or job responsibility; it’s a leadership mindset.

James argues that everyone has a customer because everyone serves someone. A customer can be the person purchasing a product, the person receiving your help, a student, a parent, a colleague, or, for a leader, the members of the team choosing to follow your lead.

The conversation explores the difference between simply completing transactions and building genuine relationships. Great customer service begins when the question shifts from “What can I get from this person?” to “How can I help this person succeed?”

For leaders, that means recognizing team members as internal customers. If leaders want their employees to provide outstanding service externally, they first need to model that same service internally through listening, trust, support, communication, and respect.

In this episode:

• What customer service really means
• Why everyone has a customer
• Customer service as a mindset rather than a department
• Moving from transactions to relationships
• Why helping others creates long-term value
• How customer service connects directly to leadership
• Why a leader’s team is also their customer
• Serving employees so they can better serve others
• How leaders build trust through listening
• Making people feel heard and valued
• The importance of first impressions
• Building a personal leadership brand
• The know, like, and trust relationship
• Internal customer service and company culture
• How leadership behavior flows downstream to the customer
• Why people remember how a leader made them feel

Drawing on experiences from Walt Disney World, leadership development, customer service training, and real-world organizations, James explains why leaders cannot expect their teams to create exceptional customer experiences if those same team members are not receiving a strong experience from their leaders.

Ultimately, leadership and customer service share the same responsibility: take care of the people who have chosen to engage with you.

Ask. Learn. Lead.

ELT All Team Meeting is a leadership podcast from Emerging Leader Training exploring leadership development, customer service, communication, personal growth, values, and the skills that help people become stronger leaders.

Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode!

How do you know when you’re making the right choice, especially when there isn’t an obvious right answer?

In Episode 4 of ELT All Team Meeting, James Moore and James Songster explore decision-making, personal values, opportunity cost, uncertainty, and the responsibility leaders take for the choices they make.

James explains that a good decision starts by understanding what matters to you. Rather than asking only, “What do I want?”, strong decision-making requires asking whether a choice aligns with your personal values, commitments, priorities, and the person you want to become. Pasted text

The conversation examines why our first instinct often favors immediate pleasure, why virtually every meaningful decision involves a trade-off, and how opportunity cost can help us understand what we are really choosing and what we are giving up.

James also shares a major crossroads from his own career: choosing between the stability and security of being a full-time Walt Disney World Cast Member and creating enough space to pursue his career as a professional magician. Both paths had value, but only one allowed him to honor something he considered non-negotiable about who he was.

They also explore why seeking advice is valuable without being obligated to follow it, why leaders must take responsibility when a decision doesn’t produce the desired result, and why making the best available choice does not guarantee the outcome.

In this episode:

• What makes something a good choice
• How personal values guide decision-making
• Why our first instinct isn’t always our best decision
• Understanding opportunity cost
• How to choose when both options are good
• Making decisions when there is no obvious right answer
• James’ choice between Disney and a career in magic
• How much other people’s opinions should influence you
• When and whom to ask for advice
• Taking responsibility for a bad decision
• Why good decisions don’t guarantee good outcomes
• Course correcting when things don’t go as planned
• The danger of waiting for certainty
• Why not making a choice is still a choice
• How leaders make difficult decisions

Like a pilot continually adjusting course toward a destination, leadership isn’t about making one perfect decision. It’s about knowing where you’re trying to go, making the best choice available with the information you have, learning from the result, and adjusting when necessary.

Before making an important choice, James’ advice is simple: look at your values, understand the opportunity cost, and decide whether you can accept what the choice requires you to give up. Pasted text

Ask. Learn. Lead.

ELT All Team Meeting is a leadership podcast from Emerging Leader Training exploring leadership development, decision-making, communication, customer service, personal growth, values, and the skills that help people become stronger leaders.

Find out more at https://betterleadershipskills.com

Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode!

What is your personal philosophy, and how does it shape how you lead, make decisions, and live your life?

In Episode 3 of ELT All Team Meeting, James Songster and James Moore explore the role personal philosophy, values, self-awareness, and purpose play in leadership and personal growth.

James shares the philosophy that has guided much of his life and career: “Better than it was.” What began as a simple handmade plaque in the home he shared with his wife eventually became a way of evaluating work, relationships, decisions, and progress. The goal wasn’t perfection; it was improvement.

The conversation explores how personal philosophies develop and change over time, including James Moore’s own evolution from “Strive to make the world a better place” to “May wisdom be your guide.” Together, they discuss why a philosophy should feel authentic, why it needs to work consistently rather than only when convenient, and how personal values influence the way a leader makes choices.

They also examine the danger of philosophies that sound positive but lack context, such as “win” or “serve others” and why leaders need to understand what their guiding principles actually mean in practice.

In this episode:

• What a personal philosophy is
• James Songster’s philosophy: “Better than it was”
• How personal philosophy influences leadership
• Why values and actions need to align
• How personal philosophies evolve over time
• Self-awareness and personal growth
• Finding guiding principles that genuinely fit you
• Why improvement doesn’t require perfection
• How leaders make decisions based on what is important
• What happens when an organization conflicts with your values
• Knowing when it may be time to step away
• Why leaders should read, learn, and explore different philosophies
• How to tell whether a philosophy truly works for you

James ultimately returns to the idea that good choices come from understanding what is important, acting accordingly, and trying to leave your work, relationships, and world better than they were before you arrived.

Ask. Learn. Lead.

ELT All Team Meeting is a leadership podcast from Emerging Leader Training exploring leadership development, personal growth, values, communication, decision-making, and the ideas that help people become stronger leaders.

Find out more at https://betterleadershipskills.com