Great Leaders Care About Their People

As the old cliche goes, “No one cares how much you know until they know how much you care.” It would have probably been more accurately stated if we adapted the cliche to read, “No one cares how much you know, until they know how much you care about him or her as an individual.”

If we went out and interviewed the people who directly report to you and asked the question, "Does your manager really care about you as an individual?," what would your people say? Would they say, “My manager really does care about my personal and professional success” or would they respond in the negative? The answers to these questions will most likely reveal their level of motivation and the strength of your direct reports’ loyalty to you as a leader.

A lot of leaders are uncomfortable with the word “care.” Does a manager really have to care about subordinates to get them to do the job they are paid to do? The answer is “no.” You can get people to do what they are paid to do by using all sorts of manipulative tactics. You could easily tell employees that if they do not get a task done, you will give them a negative performance appraisal, and that, in turn, will make them ineligible for the next round of raises. That may work. Or you may have employees who do "exactly what you tell them to do." What you will not have is a workforce that is motivated to do whatever it takes to get the job done. Why? Because you do not care about them. Their level of care about you as an individual, or you as a successful manager, is lacking because of their limited relationship with you.

If you think about it, the greatest leaders who you have ever worked for most likely cared deeply about you and your success. It worked! You were probably never more motivated and dedicated in your entire career. If you have felt dedicated and motivated, you can most likely pass on the same feelings to your peers and the people who report to you.

The following seven principles will help you demonstrate that you really do care about people.

Listen to and understand their concerns. Every time you do a good job listening and understanding your employees' concerns, you indirectly tell them that you really care about them and value their opinions. Instead of telling them anything, take this time to hear their message and fully understand what they are trying to convey. And be sure to make time to listen to each peer or individual who reports to you.

Provide them with constructive feedback. If you really care about someone, you give them constructive feedback--both positive and negative comments. That is the compassionate thing to do. You give them this feedback because you want them to be as successful as they can be. If giving both positive and negative feedback is an act of compassion, then to withhold it could actually be interpreted as indirectly undermining the success of the employee. Providing feedback actively states that you really do care.

When you disagree, do not make them “wrong.” If you really care about people, you want them to have their own opinions. That is what makes people unique. You are entitled to disagree with anyone, but when you really care about someone and his or her feelings, you do so in a way that does not make the person feel “wrong” for holding a different opinion.

Acknowledge the greatness within your employees. Everyone is capable of accomplishing extraordinary tasks. Part of the role of the leader is believing that their people are capable of doing great things. Whether you think your people can accomplish great things, or you think they cannot, you are right. The key is your belief. When you believe in people, most individuals will go out of their way to prove you are right. A manager we worked with gave a promotion to an employee who had no technical experience to do the job. The manager went on to state that although the employee lacked technical experience, she believed the employee did have the attitude and persistence to be one of the best supervisors in the organization. This demonstration of faith in the employee, combined with the proper training, will most likely ensure success.

Look for positive intentions. Most people do not go out of their way to make mistakes, propose ideas that will not work, or maliciously do things wrong. People usually have positive intentions behind their actions. Managers who care about their people look for their positive intentions rather than what went wrong or what is wrong. Everyone makes mistakes. When you dwell on the positive intentions rather than on the problem, you send out a huge message that you really do care.

Challenge your employees. When you really care about individuals, you want them to perform to their full potential. We have worked with several managers who, under the umbrella of care and concern, allow some employees to perform at levels that are unacceptable. This lowers morale in their departments and sends out signals of “unfair play” to other employees. To hold people accountable to their highest ability demonstrates that you really care.

Support their growth and development. If you really do care about someone, you want the very best for that person. This means providing him or her with an opportunity to grow. A manager told us of a situation where he supported an employee's promotion to another division in the organization. This manager stated that in some ways it really hurt his department because he lost his number one employee. This is clearly a case of a manager being supportive of an employee when it cost something to be supportive. Although this initially appears to be a win-lose scenario, with the employee winning and the manager losing, ultimately this will end in a win-win situation. Based on our experience with this organization, we are convinced that this manager is eventually going to be one of the top leaders in the organization. Based on our interview with the employee, we are convinced that she will go "to the wall" to support this manager, as well as the company.

If you manage from the heart by listening to and understanding your staff's concerns, providing constructive feedback, not making someone “wrong” during disagreements, acknowledging the greatness in your employees, looking for their positive intentions, challenging your employees, and supporting their growth and development, we are convinced you will experience the benefits of a workforce that cares about your success as a leader. And they will be willing to go "to the wall" to get things done for you and your department.

©Peter Barron Stark & Associates