People talk to their pets, their flowers, their phones, and occasionally their kids. So why aren’t company captains chatting it up more with their staff? The Bounty still might be sailing if its leader had better social skills. How important is conversing with your employees? A mere six hours a week is enough to trigger a significant jump in employee inspiration, innovation, and engagement.
But remember, there are two sides to talk — productive and complete waste. For company captains who want their words to hold weight, here are three can’t-miss conversation maximizers.
Converse Don’t Critique. A torrent of criticisms tends to make conversations a tad one-sided. And your crew won’t like it, even if you’re sporting your flashiest smile. They probably won’t fetch the plank. And their inspiration and motivation levels will plummet. Not exactly the route to success.
Much more rewarding is full-fledged discussion that gets your crew sharing their ideas, hopes, dreams, and goals. Once these are unleashed, their motivation and inspiration almost certainly will skyrocket.
Well Done. If a cleaner desk is an employee’s peak accomplishment, leaders might want to hold back on the praise. However, if one of the crew shattered a long-held sales record, recognition is mandatory. Any leader who overlooks a stunning accomplishment is dumping a load of frustration on the slighted employee.
Look for Gray Clouds on the Horizon. No employee story is 100% rosy. A captain should listen to the crew for reports of gray skies hanging over the company. This provides ample time to implement course corrections.
If you have any questions or comments about company leadership, or about any brand-related topic, feel free to send them our way. You can connect with the Young Company team at 949-376-8404 #4033 or bart@youngcompany.com. And be sure to follow us for the latest brand marketing news and tips.