Part 3: Faith, Forklifts, and Fulfillment: How Service Shapes My Leadership

At 7:03 a.m., the scanner system went down. Three trucks idled at the dock, drivers checking their watches. The crew—pickers, forklift drivers, and supervisors looked at me, waiting for answers.

Over the weekend, a major SAP update was pushed through. Everything looked fine at first. But by Monday morning, it was clear: the system had failed completely. There were no WMS, inventory lookup, or pick tickets, and IT confirmed the system would be down for a week.

It was the kind of crisis that could bring a warehouse to its knees.

But I didn’t panic.

We grabbed printed reports from Friday, rolled out backup clipboards, and mapped out a manual workflow. By 8:15, trucks were moving. It wasn’t pretty, but we got it done calmly, efficiently, together. The team knew I had their back, and I trusted them to do what needed to be done.

Oddly enough, that moment reminded me of a Sunday morning Mass.

It was 8:01 a.m., and we were missing one critical person—the priest. Mass was supposed to begin at 8:00 sharp. The altar was prepared, servers were waiting, and the congregation was seated, but there was still no priest.

So, I quietly walked over to the music coordinator and asked her to explain the upcoming hymns, even lead a short practice with the congregation. She didn’t blink. By the time the priest arrived and vested, the parish was singing and smiling, completely unaware of the disruption.

No panic. Just presence. Just people stepping up in quiet, purposeful ways to make it all work.

The Big Idea: Service Is the Soul of Leadership

In logistics, we track everything: fill rates, dock turns, labor ratios. But leadership? That’s harder to quantify. And over the years, I’ve realized: leadership rooted in service creates the kind of trust and loyalty no system or tool ever can.

I didn’t always lead that way.

As a young Marine and early warehouse manager, I focused on results, getting them done, meeting the deadline, and hitting the numbers. If I’m being honest, I treated people like tools—means to an end. I was blunt, mission-first, and blind to the damage it caused.

That changed when I started showing up differently. Not as a supervisor, but as a servant leader. Someone who listened, who showed up early, who stayed up late, not to prove a point, but to be present. That shifted when I started seeing people as people. A picker juggling two jobs. A forklift driver who was stressed about childcare. Suddenly, my role wasn’t just to get results, it was to help them succeed. I learned that respect isn’t just a rule you enforce—it’s something you model.

Dugouts to Dock Doors: Coaching with Purpose

When I coached my son’s baseball team, I laid down one rule: respect everyone. The best player, the kid who needed the most coaching, everyone was treated the same. If someone disrespected a teammate, they sat. No exceptions.

We didn’t just build a winning team—we built good people.

I bring that same mindset into the warehouse. You don’t build culture by putting posters on the wall. You build it by setting expectations, showing consistency, and treating everyone with dignity, from forklift driver to inventory control clerk.

When someone on the team stumbles, you coach them. When they succeed, you celebrate them. And when someone refuses to carry their weight after every opportunity has been given, you help them move on. Because keeping someone who refuses to grow is disrespectful to everyone else who shows up and gives their best.

A Warehouse Can Be a Ministry

My faith is the foundation of my leadership. It’s what I lean on when things get hard and when things go right.

But I don’t wear it on my sleeve and don’t expect others to believe what I do. Faith, for me, shows up in how I treat people. It shows up in my decision-making. It shows up in my commitment to consistency and compassion.

It means:

• I listen when someone’s going through something at home.
• I don’t play favorites.
• I hold people accountable because I believe in them, not because I want control.

It means seeing leadership as a responsibility, not a privilege.

And when you lead with that kind of integrity, people notice. Whether they share your beliefs or not, they trust you. They follow you. And they grow under you.

What Service-First Leadership Looks Like 

• Calm under pressure: When the system crashes, your tone sets the tone.
• Intentional listening: A five-minute check-in might solve a problem a report never will.
• Shared accountability: You model what you expect—from showing up early to owning your mistakes.
• Empathy with standards: You can be kind and expect results. It’s not either/or.

Takeaway: Fulfillment Goes Beyond the Shipment

This industry isn’t about moving products. It’s about building people.

When you lead with service, people feel it. They bring more of themselves to work. They solve problems differently. They watch out for each other. They don’t just survive the day—they buy into the mission.

Yes, automation is here. And yes, AI will change how we forecast, track, and optimize. It’ll make warehouses faster, smarter, and more precise. But it won’t make them human.

Technology can tell you what’s late, but not why someone feels left behind. It can spot patterns, but it can’t rebuild trust. It can route orders—but it can’t rally a team after a tough shift or show compassion when someone’s struggling at home.

Service-first leadership makes automation work 

If we forget that, we’ll lose the very thing that makes our teams resilient, adaptable, and ready for whatever comes next.

So, the next time the system crashes, or the priest is late, ask yourself: Am I showing up to fix this, or to serve this?

Because leadership isn’t about getting through chaos. It’s about how you do it, and who you bring with you on the other side.

In part 1 we covered: The Warehouse Is My Classroom: Why Teaching Is a Logistics Superpower

In part 2 we covered: Consult Like a Coach: The Human Side of Operational Excellence

Next in the series: “Tech Won’t Lead Your People—You Will.”

Follow the full 5-part series on purpose-driven leadership in logistics. Share this with a colleague who leads by listening and coaches with purpose.

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