Acua sum13 vol65 no2 the key element of leadership

The Key Element of Leadership

By Marcus Stanley

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very type of successful leader has one thing in common. From the fiery, in-your-face drill instructor to the calm, quiet, amicable chief audit executive, if they are successful as leaders, they all share one trait: THEY CARE!

Successful leaders don’t just say that they care or act like they care; they sincerely and honestly care. They care about each individual as a person, not just as an employee. This is why some coaches can scream at players at the top of their lungs and those same players are ready and willing to run through a wall for the coach. This also explains why the mild-mannered boss doesn’t have to chastise her people at all. They excel because they want to make her proud.

Successful leaders don’t just say that they care or act like they care; they sincerely and honestly care.

In this article we will explore a variety of ways to demonstrate caring and compassion for those whom you lead. The examples given are intended to be a foundation for you to build upon. You should certainly add your own style and flavor to make these ideas work best for you. They are presented according to difficulty and involvement, starting with the most basic and progressing to the most in-depth.

The easiest way to show someone you truly care for them is to simply talk to them. The more you have direct contact with your employees, the better you will get to know them. Simply asking how someone’s husband or wife or child is doing can go a long way. There is a catch, however, in that you have to listen to their answers. Asking a question and not listening to the answer will actually have a negative effect. Avoid wandering eyes and disinterested body language. You must look the person you’re conversing with in the eye and focus on what they are telling you. That can make all the difference between pretending to care and sincerely caring.

Some leaders shy away from sharing or discussing personal information. If this is your leadership style, that is perfectly fine and this technique can still work just as well for you with a slight modification. Go speak to everyone just the same but instead of asking personal questions, give them encouragement. A verbal pat on the back along with an authentic “thank you” can mean more to some than you could possibly imagine.

About the Author

Marcus Stanley is a motivational speaker and life coach, with several years of management experience in the aircraft industry. His email address is marcstanley2@yahoo.com and he can be found on Twitter @MarcStan10.

Speaking a few encouraging words and asking about one’s family is free, doesn’t take much time and has an enormous return on investment. If this is not your style or you don’t have time or you are not in direct contact with your employees, fear not! There are solutions for you as well.

Speaking a few encouraging There is one thing in this world that virtually every employee in the history of employees loves: food. Taking your employees words and asking about one’s to lunch can give an instant boost to morale. Of course, in the family is free, doesn’t take much tight budget environment of higher education, coming up time and has an enormous with extra funds is easier said than done, but at a minimum return on investment. you could try baking the occasional plate of cookies.

However, there is one pitfall to be aware of with this approach. If you never spend face-to-face, quality time with the recipients, they may view it as trying to buy love. They will eat the food, but someone else may receive the credit and goodwill in their minds.

Last, but not least, is perhaps the most effective way to show that you care. It’s very simple and costs no money. It does require the most significant time commitment of all the methods discussed in this article, but the rewards are almost immeasurable. All you have to do is ask (continued on page 15)

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The potential downside to helping further your employees’ achievements is that they may eventually leave your university or even internal audit entirely to pursue something else.

each person to write down their goals and then spend some time with them individually discussing how they are going to get there. Some potential areas to focus on might include what skills they’d like to develop in their current role; a professional certification they’d like to achieve, such as Certified Internal Auditor; what role they might like to move into at some point in the future; or an advanced degree they’d like to earn. This would be a good opportunity to make them aware of any assistance your organization provides, such as tuition reimbursement or internal training opportunities.

Asking your employees about their goals and then helping them work toward those achievements will ingrain deep loyalty; something money could never buy. Most people don’t even need much assistance; they just need you to nudge them forward.

The potential downside to helping further your employees’ achievements is that they may eventually leave your university or even internal audit entirely to pursue something else. This is true, but while they are working for you and going for their dreams that employee will give you everything they have to give. Is it better to have a passionate and appreciative employee for two years or one that begrudges their job but sticks with it for nine?

No matter how you plan to go about it, like Nike says, “Just do it.” You will not regret the effort for one moment. These are just a few ideas; you can likely come up with hundreds more. Just remember that all human beings want to be cared about. Once people know that you truly care about them on a deep level, there is nothing they won’t do for you. n

ACUA Summer 2013, Vol. 65, No. 2

15 College & University Auditor