If you’ve been paying any attention to the new movement in leadership development, you know that in order to lead today’s ‘knowledge’ workers you must know how to connect on a human level. Human behaviour begins the connection. Your personal behaviour profile is perfect to connect with about 25% of the people you lead. For the other 75% you must know how to adjust and flex in order to make the connection, and most importantly, you need to know what they need and what is important to them. You need to pay attention.
So how can leaders pay better attention so that they build a connection with their employees? You may begin with the following strategies:
• Hold listening sessions in which small groups of employees or managers (or both) meet with you to discuss their ideas and concerns. The goal is to receive information, not to defend your position or introduce changes.
• Observe, watch, or shadow employees. The goal is to learn about and witness the daily challenges, not to critique or micromanage the work.
• Ensure that existing policies and standards reflect existing practice and realities. The goal is to eliminate outdated and ineffective approaches, not to create additional processes.
• Be visible on the front lines and always attend employee events. The goal is to show that you are accessible and approachable, not to assert your importance in the organization.
• Model and teach the value of a positively energized mind in everything you do.
Your success as a leader is inextricably linked to your ability to connect with people. You can connect with followers in a number of ways, but all approaches must be characterized by trust, meaning, and caring. Experiences or interactions that are more focused on tasks than on people will be perceived negatively. Negative experiences accumulate and ultimately erode your connection and your leadership effectiveness. Positive experiences, on the other hand, increase your influence and enable you to sustain the connection. Positive experiences and emotional connections with people are what make you a highly effective enlightened leader. The choice is yours.
Catherine is the President and CEO of CORPORATE HARMONY, providing virtual solutions for leadership development and organizational culture change. Her leadership and coaching experience as a Project Manager in an ever-changing, fast moving technological organization with unrelenting demands drove her to the realization that a positive mindset and strength-building behaviors are essential for today’s complex and chaotic organizational systems. CORPORATE HARMONY’s virtual platform of programs, coaching and performance measurement, is an innovative online technology of tested proprietary content. The world-class content of CORPORATE HARMONY’s Positive Presence Program develops the skill of ‘Positive Presence’ and the necessary ‘Positive Presence Behaviour Competencies’ for maintaining a positive and energized mindset and increased performance in today’s complex work environment, and leading to a culture of collaboration and connection. Catherine’s vision for Corporate Harmony is to bring the skill of “Positive Presence” to the corporate world as it becomes more complex, ambiguous and chaotic. Catherine is uniquely positioned to impact organizations’ productivity and long term success, with her powerful vision of eliminating bad stress from every workplace around the globe, bringing purpose into the people equation to promote healthy, productive and meaningful work cultures and turn the tide on the neglect of mental health on a global scale. Catherine is author of the book: “CORPORATE HARMONY – The Performance Link for Today’s Modern Organization” Catherine can be reached at: Catherine.Osborne@corporateharmony.ca or go to ‘contact us’ on our website www.corporateharmony.ca. Catherine is available for consultation, and can be reached by 519-695-3407.