I love the Live Events team!! In nineteen years of leading people, they are the best team I have ever led! They know that I care about them deeply. One way that they know about this is my open door policy. It’s pretty simple; if my door is open, you can bug me with whatever it is you need to see me about.
Just last week, the Simulcast leader, Lance Osborne, came to me because of something that happened in his home town that was really bugging him. He said that it was keeping him from being able to focus. And while I don’t need to share the situation, believe me when I say, it would have kept me from focusing as well.
Lance worked for me for just almost five years. And one of the things I have always loved about Lance, on top of his INCREDIBLE ENERGY, and amazing personality, his love for life, his super cool wife Sarah, his massively photogenic daughter (I’m serious, she’s absolutely adorable! And when she talks she just gets adorabler…adorablest…more adorable!), is our conversations! For years they have always been deep.
The truth is, I get as much out of the conversations as he does. And I believe they happen for a few simple reasons:
- He knows I will listen.
- He knows I care immensely.
- He trusts me.
But I also believe it’s because I show him something things that a lot of people aren’t getting:
- Acceptance
- Approval
- Appreciation
- Attention
- Affection
These are all things that I long for! Things that I am starved for! And I am no different than every human being walking on this Earth. The problem is, we get so caught up in ourselves, that we don’t understand that others need what I need too. As leaders, we get this crazy notion that we can’t get close to our team members because it will create problems. It will create problems if you’re a dork! Not if you are genuine in how you treat them.
Therefore, get in there and find out what’s really going on with them. Find out what their dreams are. What their fears are. What their kids names are. Get past the masks that we each wear every day and see what’s truly inside. You will be amazed at what it does for the person, and what results follow with them as a team member. Again, you can’t do it as a job, you have to actually care!
What Lance doesn’t realize, is he does the same for me! It’s actually a two-way street. That’s what results from a good mentoring relationship. One where dignity and respect live.
“Therefore, get in there and find out what’s really going on with them.” – Now that is a “WHO” moment.
C. Lo – you rock, dude. Your influence runs deeper than you know.
Much love.
This takes focus as a leader to let your employees know you truly care. I believe you hit the nail on the head…we get caught up in ourselves. So true! All of us want the 5 A’s and we can help add to the other persons bank account in those areas if we deposit into them. Thanks for the reminder!!!