TELL THE MEMBERS OF YOUR TEAM WHY THEY ARE VALUABLE TO YOU

PEOPLE NEED TO KNOW THEY HELPED

Whenever someone tells me how valuable the people on my team are to them, I encourage him to tell the individuals who were so helpful. Why? Because people need to know that they helped someone.

“Good leaders make people feel that they’re at the very heart of things, not at the periphery,” says author and leadership expert Warren Bennis. “Everyone feels that he or she makes a difference to the success of the organization. When that happens people feel centred and that gives their work meaning.” Walter Shipley of Citibank says, “We have 68,000 employees. With a company this size, I’m not ‘running the business.’ . . . My job is to create an environment that enables people to leverage each other beyond their own individual capabilities. . . . I get credit for providing the leadership that got us there. But our people did it.” Shipley understands what successful leaders know: people need to know that they made an important contribution to reaching the goal.

It’s not a sign of weakness to let others know you value them. It’s a sign of security and strength. When you’re honest about your need for help, specific with others about the value they add, and inclusive of others as you build a team to do something bigger than you are, everybody wins.