Be More Human

I’m a big fan of reading leadership books, blogs, and listening to podcasts. I think it’s an easy way to learn new strategies on your own time. Recently, I came across this quote:

“Leadership today is about unlearning management and relearning being human.”- Javier Pladevall, CEO of Volkswagen Audi Retail

Marty has a favorite saying “Who says business isn’t personal?” and he is absolutely right. Leadership isn’t a title or a position. It is the ability to inspire and motivate by forming personal and meaningful bonds with the people you are in charge of leading. Employees are no longer satisfied with only a paycheck, bonus, and benefits. They want meaning, happiness, and a sense of belonging from their jobs.

That should be easy, right? But often leaders believe they are inspiring and motiving, while employees feel the exact opposite.

So how do we become more authentic?

In my opinion the most important step is to become more self-aware. You aren’t a perfect leader or a perfect human. There is no such thing! Once you realize this, you will be able to better empathize with your team. Then, you can:

• Be selfless. Leadership is not about you, it’s about your people. When you make decisions, are you doing it for personal gain or for the benefit of others?

• Make it personal. Get to know your people.

• Have their back. Have their best interest in mind. Put them front and center when it goes well and put them behind you when it goes bad.

• Make their day better. Ask yourself a simple question: How can I help this person have a better day?

The way you act on these steps will help you be a better leader, and a better human.

Until next time…we are Advoco, make every minute count.

About Dale: As our Executive Director of Human Resources, Dale is the powerhouse behind helping our team grow. He graduated from USC-Upstate (but considers himself a Dayton Flyer). He has over twelve years of HR experience in a variety of industries, focused primarily on talent acquisition and organizational development. Dale is passionate about challenging himself, and when he’s not in the office, he’s training for his next big race. Each year he picks a different race to compete in. In the past it has been mostly running events, but this year is all about biking, he just completed a 3 day, 150 mile, 10,000 ft elevation race in October. Questions? Send Dale an email!