Putting People First: The Inspiring Culture of FedEx Freight and Biblical Principles of Leadership

Putting People First: The Inspiring Culture of FedEx Freight and Biblical Principles of Leadership

The development of FedEx freight is a very inspirational one, which operates behind the culture of “People First.” The text states, “If you are going to be successful in this business, it is all about people. You do not hire people for their backs; you hire them for their minds and their winning spirit.” The Bible scriptures have many teachings about putting people first. It states that we should be loving and caring to your neighbor and treating them like family. It also emphasizes how important human interaction is to our health, and helping other will ultimately help yourself. FedEx’s vision has similarities and differences with the Bible. The similarities include the overall value that people bring into the organization. A caring attitude spreads and becomes infectious, creating a healthy work environment where people are treated with dignity and respect. This is reflected in their six business principles that discuses taking care of customers, employees, resources, and working with each other. There are also some differences. FedEx has a servant leadership mentality that is caring for their people with personal and professional development. Servant leader’s highest priority is service to others, including stakeholders inside and outside the organization (Williams, Brandon, Hayek, Haden & Atinc, 2017). There is a lot of good values in this way of thinking. As leaders show concern for these things, it shows a heightened level of care, in addition to the care for their well-being. This provide motivation for employees to become smarter, more skilled, and more efficient, as it helps the company become more successful and the employees more valuable. The leadership retreat at Valley Ranch exemplified this intention of personal and professional development as the employees and leaders learned how to become an more efficient team and develop care for one another.

Developing a “People First” culture is all in the hand of leaders. Leaders set the tone with their words, actions, and policies that they put in place. It all starts with getting to know the people that work for you. A lot of boss are authoritative leaders who are always directing orders with little to no concern for the people that they are leading. I feel that this is an inefficient way to lead. Effective leaders engage with followers and form a connection that raises the level of motivation and morality to a higher level (Cote, 2017). Placing value in people and showing care, establishes a strong foundation of respect that would lead to employees working harder and being more committed to the company that they are in.

FedEx’s philosophy is connected to Ephesians 4:32, “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you” (English Standard Version). I feel that this verse is a good guideline and foundation to building a good leader. One who has these traits of care and compassion will have followers who are dedicated to the leaders’ words and direction. These value are taught in current business/organizational literature because a lot of the books that I have read emphasized servant leadership and putting people first. They are the muscles that make the business operate and become successful.

References

Cote, R. (2017). Vision of effective leadership. Journal of Leadership, Accountability and Ethics, 14(4), 52-63.

Hess, E. D. & Cameron, K.S. (2006). Leading with Values: Positivity, Virtue, and High Performance. United Kingdom. Cambridge University Press.

Williams, W. A., Brandon, R., Hayek, M., Haden, S. P., & Atinc, G. (2017). Servant leadership and followership creativity. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 38(2), 178-193. doi:10.1108/LODJ-02-2015-0019