As I travel the globe discussing the customer experience with companies and associations of all sizes, I am repeatedly asked one critical question: How do we create a culture of service excellence?  It’s a tough one to answer. In fact, I have entire seminars designed to address the complexities of constructing just such an environment.  However, if I were to choose the one most critical component to ensuring your business culture can deliver a customer experience that delights your clients, it would be an internal locus of control.

What is an internal locus of control?  That’s the second question I am asked.  An internal locus of control is a personal characteristic possessed by the employees of exceptional organizations.  If you can imagine, inside each of us is a sliding switch that controls the degree to which we feel we can impact the outcomes we expect in life.  On one side of this switch is an external locus of control.  When the switch is positioned here, we believe that we are victims to life’s circumstances.  We identify barriers that exist outside of ourselves that limit our ability to achieve the results that we want.  “I do not have the authority to solve my customer’s problems.”  “The sales department has promised something that we cannot deliver.”  “What you need is not part of my job responsibilities so you will need to contact someone else.”  “My client is unreasonable in their expectations.”  These are all examples of responses emanating from an external locus of control.  The telltale sign of this attribute is how quickly a person searches for reasons why they can’t do something.

An internal locus of control drives the individual to impact the situation in which they find themselves.  These people do not see themselves as victims, but rather the master of their own destiny.  They take action in an effort to affect outcomes positively.  Sometimes they fail, but they learn and continue their efforts.  It is exactly this orientation that makes them tremendous shepherds of the customer experience; they feel accountable for service excellence and that personal stake empowers them.

The best time to determine if an employee possesses an internal locus of control is during the initial employment interview.  Most of the time we ask questions to determine the achievements and capabilities of the prospective hire.  Try this; ask them a negative balance question.  Here’s one: “Tell me about a time when you disappointed your boss.”  Everyone has, so don’t let them off the hook on this one.  When they finally provide an example to you, listen closely to how they follow up that story.  Do they quickly blame the boss, coworkers, the customer, or some other external factor?  Or, do they own their responsibility and share with you what they learned from that situation.  The former illustrates an external locus of control.  You want to hear the latter.

My father taught me a lot about life.  Having lived through the Great Depression, fought in World War II, and successfully supported a family by running a tiny little appliance and HVAC business, his wisdom had been distilled to a series of simple sentences; the perfect one uttered at just the right moment.  As a teenager, when I would complain about my life or agonize over a decision, my father would simply say, “Do something even if it’s wrong.  It’s easier to fix a mistake than a regret.”  Little did I know that my dad, in his rural Zen Master way, was teaching me the importance of an internal locus of control.