Take a few minutes and look in the mirror. You know what you’re going to see, but what do your employees see? How do your team members look at you? Do they see a true leader? Do they see someone they respect and want to work hard for? Or do they see you as a dictator? Think about it seriously — and be honest with yourself.
As the leader of your company, you can’t always be a friend to your employees. Your first objective is to train, nurture, and guide them so that they can be successful — and your company can be successful. That being said, have you ever considered your leadership approach? You can be a more effective and successful leader if they respect and even like you.
In his article, “What’s Your Hook Value?” in Psychology Today, Bakari Akil, an assistant professor of communication at Florida State College at Jacksonville, explains that to connect with people — to hook them to you — you need to develop character traits or qualities they consider valuable. You want people to crave working for you, but how do you do that?
First, before outlining the steps, realize your employees vividly remember everything you do and say. Once you recognize that fact, you will understand the importance of being mindful of how you communicate with — and behave around — your people. It shapes their perception and belief of who you are. Follow these five steps to become a more respected and effective leader:
1) Humanize yourself. You have a life outside of work. Open it up to your employees. Talk to your people about what your children are doing. Share your personal interests and hobbies with them. Let them see that you’re not just a person handing them a paycheck. By being more open about yourself, they’ll be more open to you. By knowing each other’s personal lives, it helps create a stronger bond beyond the employer and employee.
2) Be visible. If the only time your people see you is during a training session or team meeting, it’s not enough. They only see you as “the boss.” Take 15 min. each day to chat with your technicians as they load up their trucks. Then take 15 min. to walk around the office and converse with team members who are answering the phones and crunching the numbers. Ask them how they’re doing, and see what you can do to help them be more successful. Go out of your way to be visible and connect with your team.
3) Interact with your team. Take visibility a step further. At least once a quarter, strive to host some type of company-wide outing. It doesn’t have to be mandatory — the goal isn’t that your people feel pressured — and it doesn’t have to be on a weekend. People have busy lives. Take everyone bowling on a Thursday night, or shut down at 5 p.m. and have a barbecue at the office or your home. The key is for you to get a chance to interact with your employees’ families and them with yours.
4) Cultivate personal development. Communication and technical training are vitally important in what you do, but when is the last time you held a meeting or had a training session about personal growth? You can have all the scoreboards and contests you want, but people are far more motivated by what’s burning deep inside them. Make a commitment to personal development. Show weekly videos or have weekly discussions about topics that get your team to think beyond selling or repairing. Your employees will see that you are trying to help cultivate them into being better people, not just better workers.
5) Perform a regular act of kindness. Every month, make it your mission to perform at least one act of kindness for your people. It doesn’t have to be extravagant or expensive. Bring in breakfast for the entire office team. Run lunch out to your technicians in the field. Write a personal, hand-written thank you note to an employee who really has been working hard and going above and beyond — and include another note to his or her spouse at home who has been supporting that employee. Know that an employee’s child has a big game or play, and surprise them by attending it. It’s the little things that stick with people the most.
Hooking people to you or creating stickiness — whatever you want to call it — isn’t difficult. It’s just remembering to do it and taking the time to make an effort. By following these steps, the return is infinite in the end. When people respect you — and are willing to go above and beyond for you — you’ll be a far more effective leader.
Kennedy started Mister Sparky in 1996 in Atlanta. That location is now one of the largest and most successful residential electrical service companies in the Direct Energy Services portfolio, based on sales volume. Kennedy currently owns and operates the Mister Sparky franchise serving the greater Sarasota, Fla., area. He can be reached at [email protected].
