How managers can build relationships
What can line managers do to build trust and make people feel valued? Take a genuine interest in them. (244 words)
Do you line manage people?
How many of the following do you know about them?
- Do they have kids?
- Do they have a pet?
- Do they have a partner?
- What are the names of the above?
- What are their professional hopes for the future?
- What are their personal hopes for the future?
- What keeps them awake at night?
- What are they passionate about?
- Have they done anything recently at work that was really good and had an impact?
- Have they done anything recently at work that they were disappointed about?
Once you’ve found out the above do you ever ask them about it again?
Do you care?
Do they know any of the above about you?
Do you treat this information sensitively and confidentially?
How do the answers to the above impact their work?
How can you use your knowledge of the above questions, or others like them, to show then that you value them?
I can be pretty driven but I’ve learnt that it’s relationships that really matter in life – personally and professionally. People want to be seen. People want to be valued. People want to feel special. People want to feel acknowledged. If it’s genuine, it’s so much better than a great big stick.
This is the stuff that happens when nobody else is watching. This is the stuff that builds relationships. This is the stuff that builds trust.