Dan knew for sure that one of his team members was a future senior leader. He first got to know her by talking to her about the range of her experience, both personally and professionally. Over time he discovered that she could be counted on to deliver on what she promised. He could see that she had a commitment to make a big difference. He also noticed a warning label, that she did not see, that she ‘may contain traces of perfectionism.‘ He took her under his wing and encouraged her to take on bigger challenges. He believed in her, initially more than she believed in herself. She stepped up and quite effortlessly delivered on the challenges he gave her. He supported her with executive coaching as part of his commitment to bring out the best in her and help her deal with her perfectionist tendency.
She soaked it up like a sponge and built a name for herself as an innovative leader who produced big results in rapid time. Her career has gone ahead in leaps and bounds, much as Dan expected. She is now a senior executive and attributes her success to Dan’s support, encouragement and belief in her. These days she is following Dan’s example and is connecting with and discovering the greatness in people around her.
It makes good business sense to connect with people, so that they can perform at their best, if you want to change the game. A recent Gallup Report on the state of the global workforce showed that just 14% of Australian employees are actually engaged with their job, so there is plenty of scope to engage and retain talented people.
Game changing leaders like Dan have a great ability to connect with people on several levels and in doing so bring out the best in them.
- Experience – Everyone has a story about the things they are dealing with in life; their challenges, successes, obstacles, concerns. Great leaders take an interest in how people experience life, as well as how they fulfil their professional accountabilities.
- Commitment – People have commitments that drive them; family values, career objectives, health, finance, relationships etc. Great leaders connect with people’s commitments and the vision they have to make a difference in every area of their life.
- Expansion – We all want to learn and grow to find new depths to our leadership and often we struggle with our worst enemy, our own fears and doubts. Great leaders see what is possible for people, often beyond what the individual can see for themselves. They see them for who they really are.
Are you connecting with the people around you?
Best regards, Brian
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