When we try to fix things as leaders, sometimes we get caught up in the idea that we have to be strategic visionaries, always thinking big and considering the implications for the whole organization.
That’s true of a leader, but at the same time, we have to be concerned with the individual. You can’t fix the world without fixing the individual. So, if you have people issues and discontent in your organization, you can’t possibly fix the health of the organization if you don’t fix the people who make up the organization.
When I think about leaders who are able to effectively do that, they’re folks who are able to connect with their people on a one-on-one basis. They’re the folks who walk down the hallway and say hello to everyone lower than them on the totem pole and know them by name. The proverbial open door is there to come talk to them and express concerns.
Of course, I recognize that the larger the organization, the tougher it is for one leader to know every single person. However, the point is that folks need to see you not as sitting in some ivory tower but as someone who cares deeply about the humans who make up the organization.
Click here to read the full article I wrote for Forbes to learn how to become a true leader of the people.
