I recently played in a charity golf event with a couple of former co-workers to raise money for veteran’s causes in the memory of the deceased son of another co-worker named Jorge. The son died while serving in Iraq at a very young age. As we were making our way around the golf course, one of my partners began reminiscing about how much he enjoyed Jorge’s leadership when he was the general manager of the manufacturing operation where we all worked. He went on and on about how one of the first things Jorge did when he came on board was to walk around the facility on all three shifts and meet every single employee. This was a facility of about a half a million square feet with over 1,100 employees across three shifts of operations. Jorge stopped in every work cell on every shift to meet each employee and he asked questions about each employee and their home life including family members. My partner went on to say what was most impressive was when he came back around several months later, Jorge remembered the names of his sons and asked how their soccer seasons were going. The impact this had on my golf partner was so deep he literally said it made him willing to follow Jorge through a brick wall. What was it that made him feel so strongly about Jorge as a leader? It wasn’t that he was the smartest, most charismatic or the hardest working leader he had worked with, it was how much Jorge showed that he cared about and connected with the people he led. What can you do as a leader to connect better with your co-workers and the people that you lead? What simple actions can you take that will demonstrate that you care about the people you lead, and you have their best interests in mind? Check out the website www.connectionculture.com for more information on how to build a culture of connection with your co-workers and the people you lead. Your organization, the people you lead, and you will be better off for it.
“Show the people that you lead that you care about them, and they will follow you anywhere”
