The Best Leaders Are Nice People – They Care! It Makes A Difference!

The best leaders care about their colleagues. When I say they care, I mean the best leaders genuinely want their people to learn, grow and succeed. In fact, they offer their help and support.

Leadership is about getting other people to do what is needed, if not more than is needed, and ideally bring out their very best, by:

• Inspiring them
• Giving them a picture of success
• Encouraging them
• Guiding them
• Rooting for them, letting them know we care

What are the key motivators for those with whom we work? Generally what matters most to us is a sense of:

• Feeling appreciated
• Believing what we think matters
• Knowing we are heard
• Feeling that our boss and other senior executives want us to grow and succeed and are there to help us

This takes conversations!
Great leaders delegate, giving others responsibilities and opportunities to lean, grow and succeed, and then, with this freed up time, they have conversations. Not conversations with other senior executives in the C Suites. They get out of their offices and practice L.B.W.A., i.e. Leadership-By-Wandering-Around.

Great leaders sit with colleagues and ask questions. They ask for ideas, suggestions, and feedback. Great leaders also ask their colleagues about their personal business goals, and maybe about their personal lives (sometimes—some people appreciate that, others are not comfortable sharing personal information).

A good conversation means listening to learn and with a genuine care.
Conversations take time. If possible, we should try not to rush them. Such conversations are an effective use of our time. Our colleagues will be appreciative and motivated, and very likely more energized and productive.

Yes, conversations take time, and it is what we should be doing with our available time. It will make a difference to our colleagues, to our company culture and we’ll do better work for our customers and clients. Conversations matter! Caring matters!