Can I let you in on a little secret about business? If you want to be successful, it’s simple. It’s the people. People are the foundation of any company’s success. But for some reason, we continue to treat people as commodities.
I don’t want to lecture on this subject, but the primary job of every leader is to help people be more effective in their job and to grow and develop. We all have great people who want to do well, are capable of doing great things, and come to work fired up to do them. Great people will flourish in an environment that liberates and amplifies that energy. It is that simple. But for some reason we can forget this.
As a leader you create this environment through three simple mindsets: support, respect, and trust.
Support means giving people the tools, information, training, and coaching they need to succeed. It is a continuous effort to develop people’s skills, to provide training and an environment that fosters learning. Great leaders help people excel and grow.
Respect means understanding people’s unique capabilities and career goals as well as being sensitive to their life choices. It means helping people achieve these career goals in a way that is consistent with the needs of the individual and the company.
Lastly, trust, means freeing people to do their jobs and to make decisions. It means knowing people want to do well and believing that they will. It means giving them the space to fail and learn all at the same time.
As I’ve quoted in previous Marty’s Minutes, business would be easy if people weren’t involved, but thank goodness they are. Business is simple if you just let it be because it’s the people.
Until next time…I’m Marty, make every minute count.
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