How to Improve Our Results and Our Leadership

I have been writing about internal relationships, empathy and emotional intelligence (EQ) and have been receiving appreciative feedback. It seems a great many feel there is lots of room for improvement within their companies and that their very top management does not seem genuine in making time to walk the halls, have conversations with the people doing the work of the company, nor do they ask about and understand the importance of bottom-up ideas.

Want something improved?  Ask the people actually doing the work!

And equally important, senior management must genuinely

• Appreciate their people,
• Their work and dedication, and
• Help them achieve their success.

Sounds simple, doesn’t it?  I think it is; yet 75% of people want to leave their jobs because they do not feel appreciated.

With today’s business economy, jobs are not plentiful, so turnover has slowed.

However, having team members (my word for employees) who are not engaged is costly. Research confirms that happy team members do much better work.

I suggest we gain an even better understanding of the importance of empathy and our EQ skills.  There are terrific books, quick reads, valuable information on the Internet and leadership coaches to help us with our internal relationships, founded on trust and developed by our conversations, demonstrating our care and appreciation.

As managers and bosses, we must remember that our moods are contagious, so it is important that we control our emotions (remember: an EQ skill) and think of the effect on people of what we say and do.

Our attitude is everything.  It is so important to have a sense of humility and that we do not carry ourselves as special.

Here are some general tips, which anyone can start implementing immediately and that I believe serve us all well:

• Ask for feedback
• Remember and use names
• Maintain comfortable eye contact
• Smile
• Put our self in the shoes of others
• Be open and curious
• Listen to understand and learn
• Be courteous
• Help others – mentor, teach, coach

While these are far from a complete list of good practices, I believe embodying these in our everyday business lives will translate into an exemplary attitude, our wanting to be a servant and resonant leader, helping others succeed by our connecting with them.

Time is a problem, no doubt, but remember – conversations are the work of a leader!