The Leadership Lesson Zig Ziglar Taught Me

Years ago, I read a book that changed the way I understood leadership.

It was Zig Ziglar's "See You At The Top." Until that book, I didn't know there were employers out there who actually cared about the people who worked for them, not just what they produced. He described asking his team about their lives, taking their personal challenges into account, and still finding a way to get the work done together. It was the first time I saw empathy described as a leadership strength instead of a soft skill to tolerate.

Around that same period in my life, I had become a Sergeant in the United States Army. I hated how some of my own leaders treated us. One of the things we dreaded most was the monthly counseling sessions. They were almost always negative. They never did a single thing for morale, and most of us walked away from them feeling smaller, not better.

So when I became the one leading, I made a decision. I was going to flip that pattern.

I made sure my team heard what they were doing right, and not just the things tied directly to the mission. Sometimes it was as simple as telling someone, "Your humor brings light and happiness into our shop. Thank you for that. Keep it up." I wanted them to know I had their back, and that I saw them as people, not just roles to fill.

I also encouraged them to grow past me. I pushed them toward additional schools and toward promotion boards, even knowing what that meant.

One of my soldiers once asked me directly: wasn't I worried that encouraging them so much would mean they'd outrank me one day?

I told him the truth. If they went on to outrank me, that wouldn't threaten me. It would be a compliment to my leadership. It would mean I had done my job well enough that the people I led grew beyond where I started them.

That belief has never left me.

As I continue to grow DaliTalks, I carry it into every decision I make about how this business will run. I'm not hiring yet, but I'm building toward the day that I am, and when that day comes, I want the people who join me to feel the same things I felt at my best: appreciated, trusted, and treated as full human beings, not just job titles.

Leadership language matters. The words we choose when we talk to the people we lead shape whether they grow toward us or away from us. Zig Ziglar taught me that decades ago, and an Army platoon let me practice it. Now DaliTalks gets to carry it forward.

If you've ever worked for someone who led this way, you already know how rare and how powerful it is. And if you're building a team of your own, I hope this is the kind of leader you choose to be.