Make it Personal
I can't start a message without acknowledging Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. who we celebrate this week in the United States. I've always greatly admired him and other civil rights leaders because of their leadership skills. I realized this leads very well into the subject I'd planned to write about in this post.
As a leader, there's a lot on your shoulders. You are held accountable for many things: staff, budget, projects, and the overall success or failure of initiatives. All too often, the roots of the tree you've built or are trying to hold up are the last thing you think about. Your bosses pressure you for countless things, but at the root of all the work that needs to be done to be successful and hit targets are your people.
I've talked about this before in different ways, but this time I'm focusing on the importance of connecting with and checking in with your people in a personal way. I don't want you to force them to talk about their medical issues or family drama. All I'm saying is you need to truly connect with them, and to do that, you must get personal. This is actually quite simple, but something so many leaders forget to do or don't think about doing at all. Here are some phrases you can use - and don't forget to actually listen and have a conversation with them. In other words, don't just ask and walk away (you might laugh, but sadly, I very recently heard about this happening).
How was your evening?
What did you do this weekend?
How is school going for your kids?
Is your wife/husband/partner feeling better?
Where are you thinking of going on your next vacation?
How's your pet [insert name]?
How's that yoga class you've been going to?
Can you recommend a restaurant in town?
If you want your people to work hard - if you want to succeed - you have to make the people who work for you feel understood. In order to build highly successful teams and leaders, don't take it from me. Think of leaders you might admire, like Dr. King.
Photo credit: Christina @ wocintechchat.com