Active and Reflective Listener
In my lifetime, I have had the opportunity to meet genuine, caring, and charismatic leaders. Those who demonstrate these characteristics are admired and easy to follow. First, influential leaders have excellent social skills to interact with and motivate people. Starting a conversation and maintaining a conversation is key to developing a rapport. Most importantly, effective leaders know how to listen and share the spotlight with their employees.
Trusting Your Employees
Influential leaders trust their employees that they are creating and producing great work. Additionally, an effective leader knows how to give more positive reinforcement than negative. A rule of thumb that I like to use is the 5:1 ratio. A person needs to receive five positives to one criticism. Practicing these skills is how trust is built in a work environment.
Empathy
It is essential to have practical empathy skills when working with people. There could be environmental barriers that can impact someone’s ability to perform well in a workplace. An effective leader knows how to listen and provide support to an employee. Creating a caring work environment empowers people to be resilient when adversity happens.
Conclusion
As a therapist, I have given counseling to many folks who are experiencing work stress. Often, the work stress is due to ineffective leadership practices that negatively impact people’s mental and physical health. Therefore, effective leaders know how to engage in active listening, develop genuine trust with employees, and are empathetic. When leaders have these key social skills the retention in job places is high, and the morale is strong. The mental and physical health of people in the workplace matters!