Building People

Leaders Who Focus on Humans!

As I think back on my years in corporate America-16 years working with two large insurance organizations-my impact and commitment always followed great leaders; leaders who cared first for people, knowing people-clients and team members-drove results, profit, and retention.

How can we work to become leaders who build superior teams?

What impact do we have, as leaders, to show our teams the people matter most?

These questions and many more will determine how thriving organizations now and of the future will be built and continue to operate. People with passion and purpose always win! My Why is people, passion, purpose. This Why has directionally been my compass as a leader and how I treated my team as teammates. We all rolled up our sleeves when needed, using strategies and tactics, never worrying about the title, and focusing on our outcomes – together.

“People leave people, not organizations”

… take a minute to read that again and let it sink in.

Does your team know you put them first? If not, how can you change this?
How do we ensure our people know they matter?
How do you build relationships with your team?

“People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care” - T. Roosevelt

Let’s dig deeper into the question: How do we ensure our people know they matter?

8 Tips to use right now to ensure your team knows they matter:

Ask genuine questions you want to learn about them
Listen, really listen, to their reply – Listen to Hear, Not to Respond
Share about you – you can be professional and personal without crossing boundaries
Remember the key details surrounding partners name, kids, pets, hobbies
Participate in team lunches or activities, even if you’re really swamped, they need to see you there
Roll up your sleeves to dig into the “not fun work” … regardless if it’s menial, it matters
Know their triggers and share your triggers – transparency builds trust
Communicate often – don’t assume they know or heard it elsewhere, share what they need to know, not everything

Knowing our team does not mean crossing the line of being professional, it does however mean you take the time and energy to be genuine in getting to know your people. Prior to being a leader, how did you prefer to engage with your boss? What abilities did they show you that became part of who you are today? We all learn from our leaders… did we learn abilities we are proud of or we would like to modify?

Leadership is only a word. You need to train yourself on how to lead. A leader leads from the front in challenging times and leads from the back when their team is thriving to shine the spotlight on their accomplishments. Over my career, I worked with three phenomenal leaders who molded my leadership style by showing me how to lead and setting an example worth following! They may not even know how they impacted my career as most of my learning was from observing how they treated, engaged, and empowered their teams. A callout to Nate, Scott and Betty who are super humans and incredible leaders. Their teams ran down obstacles, never gave up, and fed off the positive, real, and “part of the team” approach they all exhibited.

What would your team say about you, if asked?
How can you impact your answer today by your future actions and reactions?

Our Building Your Leadership Effectiveness training program works 100% on how you show up, how you engage and how you truly become the leader you want to be.