"His cardinal mistake is that he isolates himself, and allows nobody to see him, and by which he does not know what is going on in the very matter he is dealing with." - Abraham Lincoln on his reason for relieving General John C. Fremont from his command in Missouri
Does the quotation describe any managers you know? Chances are it does. One key area that distinguishes managers from leaders is that leaders make a priority of connecting with their people daily.
Too many managers suffer from "ivory tower" syndrome. They isolate themselves in their offices and invest most of their time in efficiency: paperwork, budgets, inventories, ads, forecasts, etc. While these are important, top leaders invest more of their time doing that which brings the greatest return, connecting with and developing their people.
The best leaders realize that connecting with people is not a luxury. They know you can impress people at a distance but you can only impact them up close. While many supervisors think it's their subordinate's job to connect with them, leaders know better. They know it's their responsibility to connect with their people. Leader determine the benchmark for a people-first priority in their organization. They know that they must provide leadership or others will come forward to define the corporate culture-usually the disgruntled underachievers who appoint themselves as "chief company critics." Quite simply, leaders create the environment where they work; managers react to it.
Managers who never develop the skill of connecting with their people rarely become more than positional leaders. The only influence they have over employees is their title. People will follow them, but only because they have to, and they will go only as far as required. Conversely, leaders who connect and build relationships gain tremendous influence with their followers. People follow them further than they have to because they want to. This difference in impact on an organization is profound.
Perhaps that's why John D. Rockefeller exclaimed that he'd pay more for the ability to deal effectively with people than any other skill under the sun. Andrew Carnegie paid Charles Schwab $1,000,000 per year-over 80 years ago-because he was a tremendous people-person and could keep the organization focused and harmonious. John Paul Getty declared that a leader who could not develop others was of no use to him. These men realized that their most valuable leaders were those who could add tremendous value to subordinates while creating an environment conducive to personal growth.
Here are suggestions any leader can use to connect with the people he or she leads. Turning these into a daily discipline brings immediate rewards, making it easier to stick with, and less likely to result in the latest management "flavor of the month."
Commit To Daily Wander-Arounds. Get out of your office and onto the floor. "Walk slowly through the crowds." Use this time to encourage, find common ground and listen. Visit each department. If you have different shifts, make sure you're there for each one. (Warning: The point of the wander-around is to increase your visibility and approachability in a positive manner. If you've got a lousy attitude or a scowl planted on your face, stay out of sight!)
Four Things To Do During Your Wander-Arounds:
1. Catch people doing something right. Remember, the key to influencing people in an effective manner is to stop pointing out only the problems and mistakes and give more-than-equal time to what they're doing right. Your people need a coach, not a cop.
2. Compliment. The more specific the better: the technique she used to close a deal, settle a customer complaint, the presentation you overheard him giving, etc. Encourage and praise publicly. Reprimand and redirect in private. People need constructive feedback to grow. Everyone has the equivalent of an emotional bank account. What you say either makes a deposit or a withdrawal. Maintain a positive balance and don't allow yourself to become "overdrawn."
3. Seek out ways to improve. This means you need to solicit feedback. Don't wait for your associates to drop a suggestion in the box or come to you with a new idea. Some will, but most won't. One way to bring your organization to higher levels is through the feedback of your customers and associates. They know what's going on and what needs to be done. It takes guts to ask because the answers can be humbling. You just might find that your customers and associates have many of the answers you've been paying consultants for. Don't sell them short. You're paying for their hands; you get their heads for free-use them!
4. Make time for daily one-on-ones. You'll have to schedule time for this. If you're waiting to "find" time, it won't happen. Hold it in the associate's office. Have an agenda. Always begin with something positive. Ask questions and listen more than you speak. Review goals and performance. Use the time to coach and build the relationship that'll get you both to the next level.
Unfortunately, these rules for leading people get lost in the mire of daily "busyness." Commit to spending more time building bridges and less time erecting walls. Doing this will determine whether your people feel administered to or led, and also whether they feel like personnel or people.
Dave Anderson has been a car salesman, GSM and GM. Currently he works as the Director of Training for the Anderson Dealership Group in Palo Alto, CA as well as the GM of Anderson Honda-Isuzu. He is the author of Selling Above the Crowd - 365 Strategies for Sales Excellence, set for publication in the spring of 1999. If you have specific questions or require more information about this subject, please check the appropriate box on the reader response form on page 3.