Earlier this week, with a few hours on my calendar unaccounted for, I hopped on a golf cart with our Activities Director and headed out to make some rounds at SpringHill Camps. Our goal was simply to get out there and see for ourselves what was happening around camp.
I believe the age of leadership where people stand up front and tell others what they should do, teach them how to do it and then exhort them to keep on doing it has come to an end. Or, at least, it should. My time out there this week reminded me of this truth.
Leaders who lead exclusively face-to-face risk alienating their teams, often misunderstand the needs and dynamics of their team members, and usually end up out of touch with the realities of the work being done on the ground. But the biggest problem is that, from up front, it’s really hard to see exactly how, or if, these things are getting done.
When leaders get off the stage and out of the office—when they stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the people they’re leading—they can learn so much, and gain keen insight to help them lead better.
Here are the 4 great things that will help you engage the people you’re leading:
Spend time observing.
It’s one of the four primary elements we train our leadership in (see my post on how to ROCC Your Staff). Observing allows you to see your team in action. You will see if your training, resourcing, and hiring practices are helping them be successful and accomplish your mission.- Ask questions after you observe.
Sometimes the best way to find out how things are going is simply to ask. Your team members may have all sorts of ideas, needs and concerns bottled up inside. They are often waiting to erupt with helpful information about processes, systems, equipment, and even personal needs. Always finish by asking, “Is there anything else?” and then thanking them for taking the time to talk with you. - Schedule one-on-ones, or, as some of our leadership call them, Fun-on-ones.
This is another opportunity to show your team that you’re interested in them, and eager to learn from their experiences. One-on-ones should be away from the person’s regular responsibilities so they can focus on their meeting with you. Fun-on-ones take it a step further, and can be very helpful for some staff, by engaging them in the context of something that they want to do. Sometimes it’s just a walk, a Coke or a visit to the petting farm. It takes a little longer, but can be worth the extra investment. - Practice “director’s commentary.”
Offer a team member the opportunity to go on rounds with you. Allow them to observe and tell you what they see. The important thing is to allow them to talk freely about every detail of what they are observing. It can provide key insight into how they perceive certain activities. They may explain why a person is doing the job a certain way, identifying additional issues with systems or training that you may have overlooked alone.
