Win an Employee’s Heart, Achieve Superb Results
Most employees go to work, and his or her heart isn’t in it. What does that mean? Leaders’ say employees lack engagement. In other words, they lack commitment, spirit, and excitement for what they do. As a result, performance, sales, customer service and quality suffers. Can you relate to this? So, the job is a job. It’s a means to an end to get a paycheck.
A Leader Captures a Person’s Heart
Too many company cultures are toxic. Consequently, people are in fear or get beat up or do not get much support. Employees are treated as assets not people, and engaged like numbers on a spreadsheet: dull and boring. Real leaders capture the heart of each team member. How? They engage their team in consistent high performance coaching for results. Certainly, they influence their employees positively not negatively. Employees may have the skill and knowledge, but if they aren’t inspired it won’t be fully applied.
Actions Steps for Coaching for Results
Most importantly, leaders communicate well. Therefore, they communicate consistently with these kinds of activities:
- Setting clear business goals and expectations
- Establishing what the employee wants: career, personal, financial desires
- Asking for input
- Listening well
- Providing personal development training
- Problem-solving together
- Encouraging, recognizing, praising
- Holding employees accountable for great results-based team objectives and personal discussions
- Making the time-the team is more important than the goal
2 Kinds of Coaching that Inspire the Heart
First, effective leaders conduct informal coaching every day. This means throughout the day they ignite the heart of any employee by communicating in short bursts. Through a minute here or a minute there they might give someone a compliment. Or, send an encouraging text or answer a question positively. Also, help with a problem. In addition, follow-up on an issue through a phone call. Do you see where this is going? This can happen all day. Therefore, it could involve a chance meeting in the hall that leads to a quick goal review. And it should include a good morning and talking about the latest weather. Feedback from thousands of managers says that these kinds of encounters happen with employees 30-50 times a day. If each is a minute or so, is it too much to ask to invest an hour a day with your team?
Secondly, coaching for results also involves setting scheduled one on one times with each employees. This is formal coaching. If you are separated by distance you can do it by video conferencing, Skype or the phone. These meetings take 30 minutes or so. Taking this time consistently also wins an employee’s heart. You invest the time in making them successful. When you do the actions described above collaboratively and constructive, you send a powerfully positive message. These approaches mean-I care about you. I will do everything I can to help you achieve great results here and to whatever career aspirations you have. Consequently, it’s a powerful self-motivator for the employee to step up. Therefore, this kind of coaching has to be done regularly. Usually that means at least monthly.
Pulling It All Together
The above leadership style models Servant Leadership. Servant Leaders put people-first. As they help their team succeed and accomplish their goals, the company’s goals are realized as well. When you help people get what they want you get what you want. Ken Blanchard declared, “We works a lot better than me.”
Also, do you want to benchmark your career with the habits of extraordinarily successful people? If so, check out this complimentary inventory and action plan: Servant Leadership: Leading by Example.
In addition, do you want to really advance your management career? Check out Rick’s best-selling books, The Superstar Leadership Model and The 5 Dynamics of Servant Leadership.
Finally, for more in-depth career development and acceleration go here: 21 Servant Leadership Training Lessons.
