A recent article in Fast Company on team building had a data point that caught my eye. In essence it said that co-workers who open up to one another personally as well as professionally develop stronger relationships with one another which results in enhanced psychological safety. Makes sense. Sharing about our lives with someone who listens and is empathetic creates trust and makes us feel psychologically safe with that person.
This reinforces some foundational principles of my communications coaching with leaders. First, be willing to open up, be vulnerable and let employees get to know you. This makes you human and relatable. Your employees will likely be surprised at how much they have in common with you whether it’s children or hobbies or favorites sports. These connections lead to better relationships which lead to stronger employee engagement and performance.
Second, conversations are far and away the most valuable way to communicate. I’m talking about in-person conversations. No email or post or video will ever come close to achieving what you can accomplish with a conversation. Empathetic two-way conversations where people are listening to one another lead to better relationships and results.
Also, these conversations can be with groups as well as individuals. A lunch with team members where a leader spends most of the time listening and answering questions is a very powerful engagement tool. Even a large open forum with dozens or even hundreds of people can be highly engaging if the audience gets to drive the conversation.
Let me know if I can help you inspire employees with engaging conversations. The added benefit: you’ll also inspire yourself.