Get to Know Your People

By: Dan Ahearn, August 21, 2020

As a leader, you face countless obstacles on a daily basis and having a talented and empowered staff is critical to helping you overcome those obstacles. This can be achieved by recruiting, developing and retaining exceptional employees, establishing relationships where you get to know your people and cultivating a challenging, supportive and rewarding work environment for all.

What are you doing to achieve a better understanding of the people who work for you? Are you developing relationships with employees to increase trust and respect? Do you understand what motivates your employees and realize how to enable them with the tools to become leaders?

In a February, 2019 Harvard Business Review article, Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman wrote about how leaders can earn the trust of their employees. They explained that, " By understanding the behaviors that underlie trust, leaders are better able to elevate the level of trust that others feel toward them. Here are the three elements: Creating positive relationships on the team; demonstrating expertise and judgement; and being consistent."

Take time to develop relationships with your employees based on trust and honesty. Talk to your employees to understand their goals and expectations and determine how to help them achieve those goals. Identify how intrinsic and extrinsic motivators affect your employees and tailor your leadership in a direction that is most effective to each person. It takes extra work to modify your approach for each person, but that personalization can make a large difference in how your people view leadership and the organization.

Recognize how behavior influences your employees’ actions. They are not “idealized individuals who only act rationally, with perfect knowledge, seeking to maximize personal utility or satisfaction” (Adam Smith’s concept of Economic Man). Instead, they are human beings, influenced by their beliefs and behaviors, which cause them to act in often unpredictable ways.

Provide honest evaluation and specific recommendations for improvement. Inspire, develop and empower your people to develop as leaders. Encourage them to take calculated risks and coach them when mistakes are made. (For more ideas, read Amy Edmondson's work on Psychological Safety).

I am not suggesting that you become best friends with your employees. Instead, determine what causes your employees to behave as they do. Identify their strengths and help them overcome their weaknesses. Most importantly, appreciate them and the value they bring to your team, and provide the tools necessary for growth and proficiency.

In my previous blog “Make Sure to Take Care of Your People”, I wrote about taking care of your most valuable resource, your employees. Taking care of your people begins with understanding them, their beliefs and their motivations. Develop a connection with your people based on trust and respect and build a strong foundation for an effective organization.

Contact me for more information on how to get to know your people better. I look forward to helping you discover why your people behave the way they do, and how those behaviors affect your entire organization.