On this episode of Creating Disney Magic, I answer several listener questions. 

How does taking care of customers and employees reduce risk?

When you treat people right and are sincere it creates an environment and culture where guests want to help you. Guests will report issues before they are real problems because they like your company and want to help. 

Is there a difference in running meetings with volunteers versus meetings with employees?

Including volunteers makes them feel part of what is going on in the organization. When people are included, they are committed. This is true for anyone, whether they are a volunteer or on the payroll. 

What ride or show did I enjoy at Disney World?

I enjoyed Rockin' Roller Coaster because it woke me up. 

What advice do I have for people dissatisfied with their job?

At Disney, we spend time and money making sure we hire the right people. Most cast members are satisfied with their jobs. But most people are not satisfied with their jobs. Usually, this is because of the environment and culture. 

How do you transition to a new career role outside of your experience?

Think about what you do well. What would an employee be impressed with? Not technical capabilities. What makes you unique? Tell them who you are not what you've done. 

It's not magic that makes it work, it's the way we work that makes it magic. 

And we are able to create the magic with our work through clarity. 

Here is the secret about clarity people aren't talking about...If you are not clear, people will begin doing what is clear for them. People fill in the blanks and do what they either want to do or what they think they should do. 

When you want your brand to be consistent and reliable, there isn't room for employees to make up their mind on what to do. 

Being clear means having hard discussions and making hard decisions. Clarity isn't easy, but it is always worth it. 

Clarity means knowing in your own mind what you want. And then communicating to other people what it is. Clarity is not easy. 

But the end result of clarity is magic. Clarity is why Disney World is such a wonderful place. Guest have one experience at Disney, not a series of experiences that are different.

Communication is the key to clarity. The more clarity you have, and the more you hold people accountable for clarity, the fewer issues you will have. The better experience employees and guests will have. 

Walking through your operation every day, especially the beginning of the day, is the best way to know what is going on. 

When I ran a hotel, I walked the entire hotel every morning. By 7 am, I was aware of every issue and had checked in with most employees. Again, around lunch time and before I let for the day I would walk the operation again. Every employee saw me each day. 

Lee Cockerell was part of the scenery in the hotel because people were so used to seeing me. 

But what if your team is spread out geographically and it is not possible to walk the operation?

Begin with the phone. Have a short phone call with each member of your team every day. 

Or, put them on the screen. Use Skype or Zoom. 

Forget you are in a different location. 

Keep notes to make sure you cover every item you want to talk about. 

For messages that are not individual, you can use a podcast to put messages out to your entire team. 

If you want to communicate and stay connected to your team, you can. If you don't want to, you can always find an excuse to keep you from communicating. 

Delegation is hard. But if you want to get more done, you have to delegate work to other people. 

Often, we don't delegate because we think we can do it better than other people. 

As a leader, you should be doing bigger things. If a small project takes you 30 minutes, then you misspent 30 minutes you could have used doing something only you could have been doing. 

Your time needs to be used wisely. If you have hired people to do work, let them do the work. 

Take the time up front to give clarity of what you expect and it will go well. Tell the outcome you want, but don't tell people how to do it. 

Give people the responsibility and do the work and the authority to make decisions. 

As a leader, it is your responsibility to develop other leaders. When you delegate, you help other people develop.