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“I worry that business leaders are more interested in material gain than they are in having the patience to build up a strong organization, and a strong organization starts with caring for their people.” ~ John Wooden
Have you ever been chastised for “not caring”?
Have you ever been chastised for “caring”?
“Not caring” about other people’s well-being, however they choose to describe that, is painfully difficult for me; meanwhile, I find “caring” to be quite natural and easy… with one major caveat.
That major caveat: some people don’t want you to care for / help them, which actually makes it quite difficult to care / help them.
I prefer to be the “care-er” not the “care-ee”. Thus; it’s quite difficult to help me or others who don’t want to be helped. Therefore, I or others who have trouble accepting help, can be a pain in the butt for people to “care” about.
Even today, I’m a “work-in-progress” in this competency.
Just as the objective bell-curve separates talent into the well-know 84% are “Average” or “Below-Average” (68% in the bell + 16% below the bell), this principle also applies to Leadership Caring. Therefore, objectively, only about 16% of leaders are “Above Average” in the competency of Leadership Caring.
So; how do we adapt to make an impact through Leadership Caring?
Here are 5 ways I’ve found to be effective.
- Warmly enabling a culture of “Customized Caring” in your professional environment. This is a complex process that requires more than just a blog to explain. Our teams rarely see this, but it is so awesome when organizations have figured it out!
- Firmly nurturing your leadership listening skills. Interestingly; I’ve noticed most leaders struggle to accurately define listening. If you’re unable to accurately define listening, it’ll be tough to implement Leadership Caring and even more difficult to achieve #1 (above).
- Materially-accurately measuring the financial impact of Leadership Caring. One of the simple KPI’s for Leadership Caring is the weighted-average values associated with losing talent and acquiring new talent. In my leadership book, “Get MAD! 7 Keys to Being an Admired, Kick-Ass Leader”, I go in-depth on Talent Acquisition because it so financially important.
- Continuously “getting into the shoes” of others. Feel their pain, anxiety and values. Determine the amount of love they’re feeling or not feeling.
- Firmly find out what one thing you could do, to help them; and then get that one thing done, in a timely, effective manner!
Leadership Caring isn’t easy. There’s a “pie-chart” of people in your lives. Some, no matter what you do for them, they complain while others won’t let you help them one iota. Most are in-between.
Use your DMQ (Decision Making Quality) to find ways to grow your Leadership Caring skills, adjust your points-of-view, re-align with the people in your lives and be an even more impactful player in the game of life!
Remember; it isn’t about you. It’s about how you can most effectively use your Talent Portfolio to positively impact other people’s lives!
Who changes the world? I believe it’s almost exclusively the Top-7%. They are the only ones with the Talent Portfolios and social consciences needed to actually implement significant positive social impact.
If you believe you’re one of these executives, we’d love to explore possible opportunities.
Get Making A Difference! ~ JR
