5 Things To Do To Become A More Human Leader

I want you to try a little experiment for the next few days.  I want you to hold a positive image of your partner/significant other in your mind for one minute every day, and in addition tell your partner at least once a day one thing you appreciate about him or her.  That’s all you need to do.  If you do, I guarantee your relationship with this person will improve.  Actually, I know it will, because this is based on the advice shared by Dr. Harville Hendrix and Dr. Helen Lakelly Hunt, creators of Imago Relationships who over the past 30 years have helped thousands of individuals.

They’re not alone.  John Maxwell writes in his book ‘Everyone Communicates, Few Connect’, that ‘when we learn to turn our focus from ourselves to others, the whole world opens up to us’.

As humans, we go into every relationship with the mindset of, ‘what can you do for me?’   This is an unconscious behaviour. We spend a lot of time pointing out what is wrong with everyone else (yep, I’ve been guilty periodically of this) and frustrated as to why their values do not align with ours.

Think about the challenges you’re facing with your workforce.  I’m not sure we are having a ‘multi-generational workforce problem’, I think we are having a ‘leadership problem’.

Integrity.  Vision.  Confidence.  Strong Communicator.  People Focused.  These are just a few of the qualities that describe a great leader.  I know many leaders who possess these qualities; however, these are often the same leaders who complain about the millennial workforce, accusing them of being entitled and lazy.  That may be true of some, but no more so than any of the previous generations.

As Leaders, we need to be more ‘human’ and connect with our people on a deeper level.

Here are 5 things you can do:

1. Your ego has to stop being your driver. Your way is not necessarily the only way to success.
2. Appreciate your people’s strengths. Resist the ongoing temptation to focus on the negative. Think about what they can bring to the table instead of what they’re not.
3. Acknowledge your people daily, not just in reviews or formal coaching sessions. They do way more right than they do wrong.
4. Focus on what you can do for your teams, instead of what they can do for you. Work in servitude of them.
5. Be transparent about who you really are. We all have fears, uncertainties, hopes and dreams.

Your staff is human.  They need you to be that too.

Blog Authors: Linda

Linda Montalbano is a true retail operator with a history of leading large retail teams to success. If you need a fresh perspective on what's going wrong in your stores, Linda is the one to tell you like it is and come up with a solid game plan to turn things around!