Respect and trust for your people is the foundation of all good management. Without those values, you will never be a successful manager.
Respect and trust also has a strong emotional component.
I’ve quoted from Gary Burnison in the past. He’s the CEO of Korn Ferry, a management consulting and executive search firm based in Los Angeles. Burnison writes a weekly newsletter, called Special Edition, that I often find includes valuable insights into management practice.
His September 8th newsletter, “Recognition Needs No Holiday,” talks about a recent quest to purchase just a simple birthday card. Searching through the wide range of greeting cards on display for all kinds of celebrations and commemorations, the message seemed consistent: “I don’t tell you often enough how much you mean to me. I wish I could express how special you are.” The overriding message he sensed was “I should have told you.”
As Burnison observes, “there must be a heck of a lot of people who wished they’d taken the time to tell someone how they really feel.” He notes that some of the most powerful words we can say are “thank you,” in all its forms, including “I see you,” “I appreciate you,” and “You make a difference.”
Burnison describes this as “the emotional side of leadership… We all want to be loved; we all want to belong.”
Which is at the core of respect and trust.
- Does respect and trust for staff and colleagues include an emotional component?
- Do you embrace the emotional side of leadership?