John D. Rockefeller stated, “The ability to deal with people is as purchasable a commodity as sugar or coffee and I will pay more for that ability than for any other under the sun.” Your ability to work with people is a highly valued trait.
Regardless of our role, all of us are in the people business. There are few, if any, who live in a place where people interaction is avoidable. Getting along with people is necessary and worthy…especially for leaders.
Leaders understand that their ability to work with, and through, people is a significant difference maker. You must relate to people in an authentic and caring way. People can spot a fake. If you are willing to be real with people. If you are willing to value people, your leadership will soar.
Christine Andrukonis is the founder and senior partner of Notion Consulting, a leadership and transformation consultancy. In an article she wrote for FastCompany.com, she identifies three key people skills leaders ought to give attention: Care, Connection, and Flexibility.
CARE: Teddy Rosevelt said, “People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care.” Leaders must never get caught up in the persona of ‘knowledge dispensers.’ This may provide you a reputation, but it will never effectively build relationships.
Andrukonis suggests three means to communicate that you care. 1. Ask people how they are doing, and listen to their responses; 2. Let them know how you are doing; 3. Ask about their aspirations.
CONNECTION: I have always believed that people want to be part of something that is bigger than any one person. People want to know what they do matters. How might you make a connection to those you lead? 1. Help people understand the mission and vision and how what they do contributes to it; 2. Give them time to connect with others in the organization; 3. Give them access to the leader. People need to know you are available when needed.
FLEXIBILITY: The idea here is to provide guidance, without dictating how things should be done. 1. Allow for adaptation of methods; 2. Provide the opportunity to be creative in the scheduling; 3. Build in choices. Communicate there is more than one way to achieve goals. More often than not, it is about getting the end-results, not how to get to the end-results.
Andrukonis concludes her article with this, “By learning to blend empathy with transparency, collaboration with humility, and creativity with a little rule-bending, [leaders] will build more engaged teams that are focused on the future and less likely to look for opportunities elsewhere.”