When it comes to having open, honest communication, people don’t tend to really open up in large groups. They need to get a reading on the group before they open up. Don’t get me wrong, some people will open up all the details of their life to someone they just met.
I bet you have some clients like that. “Hi, nice to meet you, I just got divorced 2 days ago and filed bankruptcy.”
But when it comes to your team, they need more privacy to open up about their struggles.
Think about it like this…
- People will clam up in a large group setting for the most part (10+ people)
- Get them in a small group of 2-4 close friends and they will loosen up
- Have a 1 on 1 conversation and you are going to get the most REAL version of them
One of the best things you can do as a leader is to ensure you are giving 1-on-1 time to all of your direct reports. If you have multiple locations and a big team (20+ people) then you might not have to meet with everyone yourself, just those that report to you directly.
By the way, they say the magic number for a manager is 6 people. More than that and they feel stressed, overwhelmed and can’t hold everyone accountable.
Okay, back to the main topic! When is the last time you met with a team member one on one?
It could mean you catch a workout together, grab coffee or lunch, hop on a phone call or chat in the office at the gym. It requires intention on your part to open that up on your calendar and intention to get a life update from them.
There’s no hidden agenda to get them to do more for the Company. Its a straight up honest check-in on how they are doing as a person. More than likely, they will naturally bring up some work stuff but let them guide the conversation. And listen with 100% focus!
Let them FEEL how important they are by giving that to them. And speaking to all my dudes in this group…..FIGHT the urge to be a problem solver. I totally did that for so long and I noticed people couldn’t get real with me and it’s because I would talk to them with my logical brain.
Now I try to really sympathize and feel their struggle as if it’s my own and listen without giving advice. Its very hard but your team usually just wants that from you.
These are the soft skills that go with the hard skills (driving sales, holding standards) that get overlooked but they make a HUGE DIFFERENCE in team retention. I have 3 team members hitting five years with the company this year and they are the people I have the deepest connection with on our team.
Schedule a 1:1 meeting with your team every 8-12 weeks and just ask for a life update and create space for them to chat away. If they are having trouble getting started, come with some questions to warm them up.
- What’s new with you?
- What are you excited about right now?
- What are some big goals you want to achieve this year?
- How can I help you?
Let me know if you thought this topic was valuable and I will share some more team related strategies on future Value Bombs.