Teams Are People, Too!

  Communications Management   Talent Management   Teams  

Like it or not, everyone will face challenges in their personal lives and often, those challenges will affect their work. A truly great leader helps their employees through these personal challenges, and enables them to come back just as strong, or stronger, knowing that the company and its leaders are behind them. Because each challenge is unique, and each person reacts in their own way, there is no handbook for how to help your employees through tough times. But you’ll never be able to, if you haven’t already established a relationship with open communication that allows people to talk about what’s on their minds.

If you want to become better at noticing when your team members are struggling, practice mindfulness. Be present by giving them your full, undivided attention, which will strengthen your ability to empathize with them. Empathy is one of the most beautiful, fundamental human behaviors. But it’s also one of the most difficult to experience in a high-pressure business environment—not because most leaders lack feeling, but because the day-to-day demands of business require so much attention, it prevents most people from slowing down enough to perceive the needs of others. This is compounded by the fact that many leaders feel a pressure to always be busy, taking on as many projects as possible. I fell into this trap early in my career, and it hindered my ability to …

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