5 Ways Great Leaders Connect with their People

Leaders are judged on their results. Great leaders know they must work through a team of people doing hands-on work to get the results the organization needs. Let’s compare it to a train. The train conductor has to make sure that everyone is onboard, and that each car is connected correctly before leaving the station and before there is any hope of staying on schedule and reaching the destination. Connection, one to another, is key to getting the results.

Recently I was leading a discussion with a half a dozen top branch leaders of an organization about why leaders need to connect, not just communicate with their people. One comment was, “You connect because people will work harder for people they like and respect” and someone else said, “We are so action focused, we sometimes miss the relationship part of the work process.”  

As John Maxwell says, “You must touch the heart, before you ask for their hand.” I believe this is true. So, here are my top 5 reminders to all leaders when it comes to connecting with your team:

–Build trust with people. Listen to them, ask questions, care, genuinely care. That means doing several other things on this list as you are seeking to connect (See specifically reminders 2 & 3). Workers rate a leader’s honesty as the top leadership quality they admire. When we trust our workers and they trust us, the speed of the operation naturally goes up. When we don’t trust each other, things slow down.

–Communicate on their level. Train yourself to talk in the language of those you are talking to. Don’t change the message, just take some time to figure out how to say it so they will hear it, receive it, process it and, if needed, act on it. Failing to understand what they need can cause a huge gap in the communication process.

–Be present in the moment. It sounds so simple, doesn’t it? But in every moment of every day, we have dozens of things pulling for our attention. Train yourself to hit pause and “Be where your feet are.” That means hanging around long enough to listen once you’re done talking. If you truly listen to the questions and comments, you will learn more about the people doing the work you need done. You might even find some answers you didn’t know you were looking for.

–Give your people freedom. Freedom to get the work completed. At first, this may seem like you are taking a step backward because everything slows down a bit, but it will pay big dividends once they have been trained and coached how to do the work. For instance, a person may not know how to operate a computer, but it doesn’t mean they can’t, and it doesn’t mean they are stupid. It may mean they simply have never been exposed to a computer. Nothing that some training and practice won’t fix. Allowing a person to make learning mistakes on the front end makes the back end so much easier.

–Take the journey with your people. Don’t be a travel agent who sends people on a trip with a good-bye and well wishes. Go with them, work with them. Dr. Robert Khayat was an amazing Chancellor at Ole Miss. Each morning he got up early and walked the campus, picking up sticks, paper and saying hello to staff already on campus. He asked my team to make sure the campus was beautiful every day. His willingness to participate in his own instruction showed us he was on the journey with us.

Remember, you are the conductor of your train and making sure the connections are in place is your responsibility. As the day begins say hello first, smile and give them the thumbs up. Establishing those connections guarantees a smoother ride to your destination.

Keep cultivating connections!

Jeff