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.
What if the way you treat your team is the one thing they’ll remember long after your last strategy meeting?
I’ve been around long enough to know this: you can’t fake care. People can smell it. You can write it in a mission statement, rehearse it in a boardroom, or post about it on LinkedIn, but if it’s not real, if it doesn’t show up in your daily behaviour, then it doesn’t stick.
And here’s the kicker: real care is a competitive edge. It builds trust faster than KPIs ever could. It increases loyalty. It reduces turnover. It helps teams speak up when it matters most. And in the workplaces I walk into, it’s usually the missing ingredient leaders are looking for.
Most leaders care, they just don’t know how to show it
I’ve met hundreds of leaders across mining, construction, and corporate. Many of them genuinely care. But caring in your head isn’t enough. It’s how your team feels about how you treat them that makes the difference.
I used to be that leader who assumed my team knew I cared just because I was getting the job done. But when I started to notice people withdrawing, or not speaking up, or second-guessing their worth, I realised that productivity without psychological safety isn’t success, it’s survival.
If you’ve read this article on making people feel safe to speak, you’ll know exactly what I mean. People do their best work when they’re not scanning for danger in your tone or your body language.
Care isn’t soft, it’s strategic
I hear people say, “We’ve got work to do, we can’t coddle people.” That tells me they’ve misunderstood what care looks like in leadership. It’s not about being soft. It’s about being human. It’s about tuning into your team’s emotional bandwidth so they can focus on the work, not spend their energy protecting themselves.
It’s not about agreeing with everyone. It’s about choosing to understand them, especially when you’re under pressure.
And empathy is just one piece. This guide on emotional intelligence at work really hits home when it comes to recognising the impact of tone, self-awareness, and regulation in daily leadership.
If you want a solid breakdown of how emotions play a role in workplace leadership, check out our take on why emotional intelligence is a leader’s greatest asset.
Your team is always watching
I remember hearing this thought once, probably in a Reddit thread if I’m honest, but it stuck with me. “Your people don’t need you to be perfect, but they need to know you’re not pretending.” That couldn’t be more true in leadership. Every team I’ve worked with can spot the difference between a leader who shows up and one who performs.
It’s like this essay I read on how emotional management. When a leader carries unspoken pressure, the whole team feels it. And when leaders pretend nothing’s wrong? That disconnection is contagious.
Real care creates real safety
There’s been a lot of talk about psychological safety lately, and for good reason. We’ve been running our Speak Safe training program, and every time I facilitate it, I see the same lightbulb moment go off: care and safety are connected.
One of the most insightful pieces I’ve come across and something that really mirrors what I’ve experienced with clients is this exploration of emotional intelligence and job satisfaction. It highlights how leaders who care foster not just happier teams, but stronger bottom-line outcomes.
If you’re building a team and not prioritising psychological safety, you’re putting pressure on people to protect themselves first and contribute second. That flips when leaders lead with care.
Need more on this? Take a look at why authenticity beats perfection every single time.
So how do you lead with care without faking it?
- Slow down long enough to listen properly. Not to fix, not to reply, but to really hear. I broke this down more in this article on listening skills for leaders.
- Say what you mean and back it up with behaviour. Don’t promise support if you’re not going to follow through. Consistency builds trust.
- Drop the need to be impressive. Your team wants real more than they want perfect.
These sound simple, but they’re where most leaders go wrong. They default to productivity, KPIs, and policies. And while those things matter, they mean nothing if your team feels like they’re working under someone who doesn’t actually give a damn.
Care builds more than loyalty—it builds momentum
When people feel seen, heard, and supported, they go above and beyond. Not because they’re scared. Because they’re safe. That’s the foundation of every high-performing team I’ve coached.
One of the most striking things I’ve ever read is this analysis on “competitive empathy”. It flips the narrative. Being the kindest leader in the room doesn’t make you the weakest—it makes you the most strategic.
In fact, that idea is at the heart of what I speak about with leadership teams all over the country. If you want your team to bring their full selves to work, you have to go first. You have to show them what care looks like—even when it’s inconvenient, even when you’re under pressure.
If that resonates, and you know your team could use more trust, more safety, and more real leadership, feel free to get in touch. Or book me directly if you’re ready to take action.
It’s not about being soft. It’s about being strong enough to care out loud
Because the truth is, you’re already leading with care or not—whether you realise it or not. It’s not in what you say. It’s in how you make people feel at the end of the day. And that? That’s the part they remember.
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If you would like to learn more about Anton or The Guinea Group, please click here to book into Anton’s calendar, to:
UPGRADE your Mindset
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