Annette asked me a couple weeks ago to write a guest blog for Nutrition Outlook. I immediately said yes, thinking that I would write about my experiences thus far with the the NuVal™ System at Skogen’s Festival Foods.  Then I read her latest post, “Think Positive,” and my thoughts took me in a different direction.

Whether you are sitting on a non-profit community board, serving as a government official, or in a grocery store, it is a challenge to introduce new ideas and shift paradigms as you always run the risk of offending someone with an opposing viewpoint. I appreciate hearing various opinions and feedback; this feedback helps to make new programs and policies better.  What does get to me on occasion though are individuals who don’t take the opportunity to look at the big picture. Instead, they tend to immediately find the negatives and focus on those. In addition, those people who point out the imperfections rarely offer a better solution.  It is easy to point out what’s wrong, but what can you do to fix it?

So if there is a possibility of negative feedback, why would a grocer go ahead and launch a program such as NuVal – especially when business was doing alright without it? Here is a bit about our story…

Skogen’s Festival Foods is built on a culture of servant leadership, especially the teachings of Jim Hunter. Mr. Hunter says that if you wish to be a leader, you must first learn to serve the legitimate needs of others. He defines servant leadership as the skill of influencing people to enthusiastically work toward goals for the common good with character that inspires confidence.  

While business was moving along just fine without NuVal in our stores, our leadership team decided that providing additional guidance – namely nutrition guidance – was the right thing to do for the loyal guests who shop our stores.  We wanted to provide easy, but still reliable, nutrition information at the time of purchase, and discussions led us to the NuVal™ Nutritional Scoring System.

In addition to serving people, you also have to show commitment to the choices you’ve made and the responsibilities you have “signed up for.”  As Festival’s dietitian, these thoughts reverberate in my head on a continual basis. I take every opportunity to share the facts about the NuVal System, the science behind the scores, explain how the program can be used by the average consumer, and answer any questions that might come up in the mean time. I am committed to teaching others about the NuVal™ Nutritional Scoring System.

My point with this lengthy post is that negative comments can easily dash the positive hopes and aspirations of others (this is exactly what those who speak them hope for!). However, it should only dampen the mood momentarily as there is often no further action taken because the negative approach typically does not offer a solution; those focusing on a positive approach tend to have a plan of action in place, and will persist beyond the few negative comments.  If you have good intentions and take the appropriate actions, you will be successful in making positive changes!

Servant leadership, and the teachings of Jim Hunter, can be applied to everything in life. I intend to continue serving others as Festival’s dietitian, and NuVal™ Nutritional Scoring System is a very helpful tool in doing so.

Can you utilize servant leadership in your life?

Visit www.nuval.com to learn more about the system Stephanie Walker, RD, CD includes in her servant leadership.