KATHY ARCHER
  • Home
  • Membership
  • Blog
  • Podcast
  • Coaching
  • Confidence Book
  • About
  • Contact Me
  • Free Worksheets

The trick to leadership effectiveness

26/5/2015

0 Comments

 
Are you tired of employees that don’t seem to care? 
Apathy on your team shows up as indifference, laziness and sluggish behavior. Apathetic employees are simply going through the motions, looking for a pay cheque. If you are looking for the magic trick to transform this behavior, read on!
Picture
I've been known to seem as though I don't care
I caught my mind wandering earlier today when my son stopped in to talk to me. I was thinking of the things I had yet to do instead of listening to him. In fact I completely missed at least 2-3 sentences of what he was saying. When I realized this, I pulled myself back to the present conversation.  (i.e. I practiced mindfulness) I looked at him, leaned in and focused on his excitement about his first time moving into a place on his own. When I took the time to focus and look at him, I could feel him get more excited and animate in his story. He felt heard.

Perhaps you've been on the receiving end, feeling as though you don't matter
You’ve probably been in the experience of my son, more times than you care to remember. You have been talking to someone and you know full well they are only partly there. It feels as if you are competing with some voice in their head that obviously only they can hear. When I’ve been in this situation, it feels as if the person “listening” doesn’t really care.

You might just be as guilty as I am ... on a regular basis
The truth in is leadership we do this to our employees constantly. In fact, we don’t even realize we do it. We talk to them about their work, their growth and the clients challenges, with only a small percentage of our consciousness on them. We are in fact apathetic towards employees. It appears as though we don't care!
Our own apathy makes employees feel insignificant and that their work irrelevant. 

Ouch! I bet that isn’t the impact you want to have!
Here is the trick to changing their apathy - Look into their eyes
To change this impact, the one magic trick is to establish and maintain eye contact. When you look into someone’s eyes, you establish a level of connection that portrays connection, compassion and trust. These are vital traits for effective leadership.
Employees want to be seen. They want to know that you know what they are up to. By keeping up to date on what they are involved in and their challenges, employees feel that their contribution is worthwhile. When you look at them when talking to them, they feel the conversation is two-ways and engaging. People don’t want to be talked to or talked down to. The want to be in conversation with you! Eye contact is critical for that kind of connection.

Employees want to know you care. They want to matter to the company and more importantly, to you. When you show compassion and care towards people, they feel validated and real. To know someone cares about you helps to grow the feeling of belonging and association. Looking at them puts you both in a place of vulnerability and can feel a bit awkward. Get comfortable with it. Vulnerability is something effective leaders embrace. Look into another’s eyes and really see them and feel all that is there.  

Employees want to know they can trust you. If you say something to them, employees want to sense you will keep your work. By looking them in the eye when you share information, establish routines or provide feedback, the employee feels your honesty and authenticity. Both are key parts of trusting relationships
Eye-contact is critical to developing passion for the work
By establishing and maintaining eye contact with your staff you create deeper more meaningful relationships. Employee's care and concern for the work they do grows as you demonstrate care and concern for them. The organizational culture will shift from apathy to passionate work!
QUESTION: Try increased eye contact in one conversation with an employee this week. What difference did it make in the engagement of that employee?

Picture
Book Club starts in June
After some requests, I've decided to bring back the summer reading club. Join me and a bunch of dedicated learners on a virtual book club over June, July and August. We will be reading Brendon Burchards's The Motivation Manifesto.  Check out all the details here.

0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Join the membership

    Picture

    Listen to the podcasts

    Picture

    Read the book

    Books for Nonprofit leaders
    Available on Amazon


    Kathy Archer

    Women leaders often hit a point where they find themselves in over their heads and wondering if they have what it takes to lead.
    ​
    ​In my online courses and coaching I teach them inner and outer tools to restore their lost confidence so they can move from surviving to thriving in both leadership and life.

    Archives

    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015

    Categories

    All
    Conflict Resolution
    Courage & Confidence
    Emotional Intelligence
    Employee Development
    Goal Setting
    Health And Wellness
    Leadership
    Leadership Mastery
    Mastery
    Mindfulness At Work
    Personal Growth & Development
    Priority Management
    Productivity
    Project Management
    Shifting Perspectives
    Shifting PerspectivesShifting Perspectives
    Supervision

    RSS Feed

Picture

For you:

About Me
​
Join The Training Library membership
Get Coaching
​
Join the Confident Women Leaders Free Community
Free Resources
​Privacy Policy
The Training Library 
Imagine getting the training  you need, when you need it most. Find that in the membership

Join the Membership

Picture

Search the Website


Resources

Mastering Confidence: 
Discover your leadership potential by awakening your inner guidance system 
Picture
Surviving to Thriving Podcast: Strategies, systems and support to lead with confidence
Picture
  • Home
  • Membership
  • Blog
  • Podcast
  • Coaching
  • Confidence Book
  • About
  • Contact Me
  • Free Worksheets