Never before have we been more connected through such a wide range of communication channels. However, we have also never been more prone to the dangers of care that comes too little or too late. This is due to the numbing effect of encountering the same roadblocks and issues over and over again without any meaningful resolution.
 

Relationships between people are becoming more challenging. We now have a generation that has grown up with the fear of closeness embedded in their psyche. The expression of care, particularly in the workplace, has become a rarity, but the care we bring to our relationships is a vital component of our leadership capability. The best leaders bring their focus and attention to their relationships, including their relationship with themselves. Let’s explore the various facets of how today’s leaders can examine their relationships and make improvements to them, thereby amplifying their leadership capacity.

What Makes Life Meaningful

Critical thought and evaluation are a necessary and valuable tool for leaders who excel. Without such reflection, a leader’s relationship with themselves and with others weakens. Begin by reflecting on what makes life meaningful and rewarding. Think of your quality of life. Has it increased or decreased in the last few years? Why is this? What do you see as the cause of any perceived change? Considering your quality of life communicates care not only for yourself but also for others around you. Your quality of life includes those connected to you both personally and professionally. Consider family members and friends, colleagues, bosses, partners, and team members. How might you contribute to a better quality of life for all?

Future Planning

All too often, individuals have a plan for their upcoming vacation, but they do not have a plan in place for wrapping up their professional lives or their business responsibilities. They may have a contingency plan for if it rains tomorrow but have no plan for what happens if the company they own or work within folds or closes its doors. Planning for the future is an essential action that demonstrates care for the future—your future, the future of your family and friends, and the future of the organization you work for and the colleagues and associates who you work alongside day in and day out.

Developing Professionals

Investing in professional development without having to be prompted by external change is essential. Taking action not simply because you were told to do so but rather because you knew such action was necessary is a sign of self-care and self-respect. Also, consider the personal and professional development needs of your staff and those you lead. Doing so demonstrates care. When leaders operate from a position of care, they raise the standard for others to do the same and naturally open new pathways to sustainable success.

Culture Building

What about culture building? How does care tie into this aspect of leadership? The power of understanding that your customers and your employees are not all the same, and that you should not want them to be the same, is critical. It can make or break an organization. Those organizations that cater to only one group do so at their peril. Ignoring other groups, whether internal or external to the organization, affects the bottom line and limits the opportunity for the organization to attract new audiences.

Reaching Across Borders

What if your organization wants to do business overseas? How would you display care there? Care leads to trust which leads to relationships which leads to business. Conversely, a lack of care that comes in the form of ignoring customs or believing others will conform if you push your agenda is short-sighted. This can and will inevitably lead to undesirable results. Remember that building relationships means knowing the value systems of those for whom you want to exhibit care.

Recognizing Potential

Care is demonstrated by taking the steps necessary to recognize the hidden potential in current and prospective employees or team members and to take the necessary steps to nurture that potential. Such a course of action is a powerful retention tool. Coupled with empowering others to be part of creating or implementing a solution, this recognition of potential and an organization’s choice to nurture that potential demonstrates a value for human dignity. When an organization consistently acts by that value, it builds trust in its employees and associates. Successful leaders and the organizations they work for demonstrate care by evaluating progress.

Leadership has changed. Gone are the days when you could read a book or hear a catchphrase on leadership and trust that its wisdom is tried and true. The best leaders are not always those who work the hardest, put in the longest hours, show up early to get the worm and stay late. Today’s top leaders are often those who work smarter with prioritized loads and who get straight to their goals with the help of talented teams that take on the work as a group.

Those who stand at the forefront of the new leadership landscape are strong in mind, body, and spirit because they get good rest on their well-deserved vacations. They tend to their own needs and the needs of the teams they lead.
 
And that worm? Well, the sharpest leader in today’s workforce is after greater sustainability and is far more interested in the seed than the worm. Smart leaders know the worm will come up from the soil eventually because the rain will bring it up. They know their reward is received in exchange for their consistent choice to nourish the environment that has been entrusted to them.

As today’s top executive leaders, HR managers, and change makers identify, engage, and develop the best human and artificial intelligence leaders for their leading-edge organizations, they set the ideal conditions for optimal performance from their teams, thereby accelerating and amplifying positive results for the organizations that employ them.

Author Bio

Dr. Shanda Gore is the Founder and President of Mays and Associates, Ltd. (MAYS), a full-service leadership development, strategic planning, and culture-building consulting firm. With more than two decades of experience in leading organizations for change, Dr. Gore leads the MAYS team of experts that works with organizations from city and county municipalities, private corporations, K-12 systems, public and private universities, and large athletic organizations. She is the author of The PinLeader Path: Identify, Engage, and Develop Effective Human and AI Leadership for Your Organizational Culture.

 
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