Anton Guinea
Entrepreneur, Speaker, bestselling author, and founder of The Guinea Group of Companies. For over 15 years, Anton has helped leaders move their teams to become psychologically safe, physically safe and overall better versions of themselves.
Most of the industries we work with have male leaders. And some have been in their roles for a long time. It is changing, slowly. Which is a positive. Our focus has always been to delivery programs that train and coach ‘soft stuff for hard blokes’. And that trains leaders in general terms about how to care for their teams.
Bob was one such leader. And for Bob it wasn’t that he didn’t care, it was that his team didn’t feel like he did. And if teams don’t feel cared for, they won’t care for their leader, or their team. What you give out you get back, right?
So, what did Bob need to do to demonstrate care factor?
Be present
If you asked Bob’s team, he was a powerhouse. He was always moving somewhere or doing something. Bob was energetic. He was passionate. His team thought that he was a strong leader, but they didn’t think they were really on the top of his priority list. The work was. And the next catastrophe was Bob’s focus.
This was really apparent when Bob’s team really needed his attention. For example, when they had to discuss personal issues… and Bob cared (and wanted to help) but didn’t know how to show that.
Leaders who can’t slow down and take their time to listen and support their teams when they need it, aren’t demonstrating care factor.
Bob’s mission was to stop what he was doing. Sit still. Look at his team member. And listen. And be present. Have a conversation. And take the time to understand what is happening in their life that they need to talk about.
Learn to say I care
Now this one shocked Bob. “So, you are saying I should just tell people that I care about them” he said. Yes Bob. Tell people, in whatever words feel right for you that you care about them.
It is strange that telling team members that we care for them is such a big deal.
Watch the reaction from your team members when you convey with them that you care about them as humans. Not just as team members.
I am not sure if Bob ever got comfortable with this one (to be honest), but he tried.
Step into compassion
We are born compassionate. Compassion is an innately human trait. We start demonstrating compassion in the early months of life.
Compassion is the third part of empathy. After thinking about what it must be like for the other person and feeling what they must be experiencing. What makes compassion important, and what a lot of people don’t understand, is that compassion is about action. It’s about doing something for another human who needs support. Sometimes, there is nothing we can do as leaders, but at other times there is.
For Bob, it was very much about understanding what he could do to help. Whether it was proving personal leave when required, working with HR on solutions, or anything else that helped his team to feel cared for.
Fortunately, most (not all, but most) of our coaching clients are open to improving, and showing up differently, and Bob was one of those clients. And of course, his team benefited greatly.
Learn how to demonstrate care factor
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