Tag Care to Lead

Demonstrating You’re a Leader Who Cares

Steve Keating 1 Comment

There are certain “facts” of leadership that are immutable. The biggest one is this: you can care for people without leading them, but you absolutely can’t lead people without caring for them.

I chose the words in that prior sentence very carefully. Before you go patting yourself on the back because you’re a leader who cares about their people, you should notice I didn’t say “care about.” I said care for people.

There is a world of difference between “care about” and “care for.” Both in terms of mindset and actions. Anyone in a managerial role will care about their people. Much like they care about their budget, their inventories, their building, and all the “stuff” that goes into running a business.

Authentic Leaders care about all that stuff too, what separates them from leaders in name only is that they go beyond caring about the people they lead. They care for the people they lead. That means they invest a part of themselves into their people’s success. They aren’t just concerned with the performance of their people “on the job.” They are invested in the lives of their people outside of the organization as well.

Authentic Leaders know that the people who work with them are human beings. They know that it’s actually impossible to completely separate “work life” from life in general. So they don’t expect or ask the people they lead to do that. They know that the human beings they lead need to be cared for. They need to know they are cared for. They can’t just be told they are cared for, they need to see it. They need to feel it.

So Authentic Leaders are intentional, proactive, and consistent in showing the people they lead that they are indeed cared for.

Demonstrating that you’re a leader who cares for the people you lead involves a combination of behaviors, communication styles, and actions that show empathy, respect, and genuine concern for their well-being. Here are some key strategies to effectively show your people that without a doubt, you really do care for them.

1. Active Listening

• Give full attention: When your team members speak, listen actively without interrupting. Show that you value their input.

• Reflect and clarify: Paraphrase what they’ve said to ensure understanding and demonstrate that you’re engaged.

• Ask for feedback: Regularly seek their opinions on decisions that affect them.

2. Empathy and Understanding

• Recognize individual challenges: Understand that each team member has unique personal and professional challenges.

• Show compassion: Respond to their issues with empathy, offering support where possible.

3. Transparent Communication

• Be open and honest: Share information about the organization, decisions, and changes openly.

• Encourage questions: Create an environment where team members feel comfortable asking questions and voicing concerns.

4. Support and Development

• Invest in their growth: Provide opportunities for professional development and career advancement. Encourage them, often, to take advantage of those opportunities.

• Offer constructive feedback: Help them improve by giving feedback that is specific, actionable, and supportive. You have to “do better” is not constructive feedback. Again, specificity is the key to constructive feedback.

5. Recognition and Appreciation

• Celebrate achievements: Acknowledge both small and significant accomplishments publicly and privately.

• Personalize recognition: Tailor recognition to the individual’s preferences and needs. Yes, this requires more effort, but Authentic Leaders put forth this level of effort all the time.

6. Creating a Positive Work Environment

• Promote work-life balance: Encourage taking breaks, vacation time, and maintaining a healthy work-life balance. And let’s be real clear on this one, if you’re pushing your people to extremes, to working 24/7 with no life outside of work, then you may be a boss, but you’re no leader.

• Foster teamwork and collaboration: Create opportunities for team-building and collaborative projects.

7. Leading by Example

• Exhibit the behavior you expect: Model the values and behaviors you want to see in your team. Whether you realize it or not, you ARE leading by example. Your people are always watching. They will do what they see you do 1000 times faster than they will do what you say to do. So if you’re having performative issues with your people, the first place to look is in the mirror.

• Show resilience and optimism: In times of challenge, demonstrate resilience and a positive attitude. Authentic Leaders create hope where despair once existed. If you can do that, you’re an Authentic Leader.

8. Availability and Support

• Be accessible: Make yourself available to your team for support and guidance.

• Provide resources: Ensure they have the necessary resources and tools to perform their tasks effectively.

9. Personal Interest

• Know your team members: Take the time to learn about their interests, families, and personal lives.

• Check-in regularly: Have regular one-on-one meetings to discuss their progress, concerns, and well-being.

10. Empowerment and Trust

• Delegate responsibility: Trust your team members with important tasks and decisions.

• Encourage autonomy: Give them the freedom to approach their work in their own way, fostering a sense of ownership and responsibility.

When you consistently use these ideas you’ll demonstrate that you are a leader who genuinely cares for the people you lead. The key is “genuinely.” You might be able to fool some of the people for a little while, but if your caring is not sincere they will figure it out in relatively short order. And once they figure out you don’t really care for them, they will no longer care to follow you. Then my friend, your days as a leader are numbered.

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A Failure to Care

Steve Keating 1 Comment

One of the most basic truths of Authentic Leadership is that you can care for people without leading them but you cannot lead them without caring for them. 

Attempting to lead people without caring for them causes the “leader” to actually manage people instead of leading them. Those leaders would tell you that they in fact do care about their people but their choice of words betrays them. 

We manage things. We lead people. We care about things, we care for people. The difference is not merely word games. The real difference is in mindset. The mindset of caring for others is the biggest difference between Authentic Leaders and those who merely have a title indicative of a leader. 

When you consistently demonstrate that you care for people the level of commitment you’re able to gain from the people you lead goes up. Way way up. People are not following you because of your title. They are following you because of what they have seen you do for others and what they have felt you do for them. 

When people feel better about themselves because of you then you are an Authentic Leader. 

I once had a person in a top level leadership position ask me how to fake authenticity. This was during a leadership workshop with his entire leadership team in the room. He said if I knew his people the way he knew his people I wouldn’t care for them either. Again, he said this out loud, with his entire leadership team in the room. I have done literally hundreds and hundreds of leadership meetings like that and I had never seen anything like that before. I’ve never seen anything like that since either. 

He was without a doubt the worst person I’ve ever seen hold a high leadership position. 

But he at least said what he thought out loud. I fear there are more people who think like him and indeed try to fake authenticity. They pretend to care. They think they are fooling people. They believe they are smarter than everyone else and that they will never be found out. 

But no one hides who they really are for very long. No one. People figure it out. If you’re in a leadership position then you must know that the people you’re supposed to be leading are almost always watching you. They are always evaluating whether or not your words match your actions. They want to know if you’re walking your talk. 

As I said earlier in this post, you cannot lead people without truly caring for them. That’s a fact. It’s also a fact that you can’t “fake care” for very long. When you suffer from a failure to care then the people you’re supposed to be leading also suffer. They suffer from a lack of true leadership. 

If you don’t genuinely care for people then I would submit that you are not qualified to lead, not even yourself. 

The One Absolute of Authentic Leadership

Steve Keating 6 Comments

I am frequently asked how to define the difference between Leadership and Authentic Leadership.

A leader is anyone who has influence over other people. That’s a very broad definition and points to the reality that almost anyone can lead. Your level of influence will determine your ability to lead. The greater your level of influence the greater your leadership potential.

But Authentic Leadership is something different. Being an Authentic Leader requires more than mere influence. It requires that you use that influence in a way that positively impacts the lives of the people you lead.

Authentic Leadership begins when you care for the people you lead. That’s because Authentic Leadership requires that the leader put their people first. If you don’t care for the people you lead it’s nearly impossible to put them first.

When you care for your people and you put them first it leads to enthusiastically helping your people succeed. It leads to making a positive difference in their lives.

That’s why the one absolute measure of whether a person is an Authentic Leader is whether or not they have helped make the people they lead better. Better at what they do, better at how they do it and better at why they do it.

Authentic Leaders make a difference in their people’s lives. They do it with no expectation of receiving anything in return for themselves. It may indeed help their organization but that’s not their primary motive for helping their people. They help their people in almost anyway they can because it’s the right thing to do.

A leader can have a large dose of success in many areas but if they haven’t helped another person reach their potential and achieve more than that person thought possible then they may be a Leader but I would not define them as an Authentic Leader.

If you’re wondering whether or not you’re an Authentic Leader you don’t need to wonder anymore. Look around at the people you’ve been leading. Are they better off because of the positive impact you have had on their life? Would they agree that you’ve had that positive impact if they were asked.

If the answer to both those questions is not a solid yes then you have some growing to do as a leader. That growth begins with a decision that says “I will LeadToday.” When you make that decision to authentically lead you won’t only change the lives of the people you lead, you’ll likely change your life as well.

Care for Your Customer

Steve Keating 1 Comment

I always enjoy watching marketing people, well good marketing people, talk about their products. They have a passion for them and if they are truly good at what they do it’s safe to say they actually love their products. It’s like their baby!

 

I’m especially interested in how they talk about their products to salespeople. They want the people selling their product to love it as much as they do. That’s where I’m pretty different from most marketers. 

 

I don’t want salespeople to love their products; I want them to love their customers. Don’t get me wrong, I want salespeople to believe in their products enough to represent them with integrity. I want them to understand the value those products bring to their customers. I need them to understand how their products solve a customer’s issue. I literally want salespeople to feel it’s an honor to sell their products to people who will benefit from them. 

 

But for long-term very successful salespeople it’s not the product they are most passionate about; it is their customers. More specifically, they are passionate about helping their customers. They care enough for their customers to help them identify their greatest areas of need. Then they work to figure out if they have a product or service that can address that need. 

 

Notice that I didn’t say that they care “about” their customer. Every business and salesperson cares about their customers. What I said was that long-term successful salespeople, and businesses for that matter, care “for” their customers. There is a big difference between caring about and caring for. 

 

Today Customer “Care”  has become something of a buzzword. Many Customer Service Departments are now called Customer “Care” departments. For many of those service departments the name was the only thing that changed. 

 

“Care” is much better as a verb. Some people use it as a noun but successful people, successful salespeople, successful leaders, and successful organizations use it as a verb. 

 

A verb, for those of you struggling to recall your days in English class, refers to an action. It will always be better to show people and customers that you care than it will be to tell them. I’m betting some of you are telling yourself right now that you care. I’ll bet some of you are reasonably sure other people know you care. I’ll also bet that many of you are hoping people, and your customers know you care. 


Don’t bet, don’t hope and don’t assume. Turn “Care” into a verb today and show someone, a loved one, a special co-worker or even a customer how much you truly care. It’s good business sense and it’s great people skills. So do it today!


Do You Know Your Leadership CF?

Steve Keating 4 Comments

The best leaders, well I don’t know if best is the right word but the most effective leaders, those who make a long-term positive difference, have a high CF. 

 

Their CF is on display daily. They are intentional in making sure as many people as possible see it. Their CF is not merely a veneer they paint on when in the presence others; their CF is a part of their DNA, it’s who they are, all day every day. 

 

Their CF, or Care Factor is genuine. They truly care for the people they lead, in fact they care for people in general. 

 

Can a leader be effective without caring for people? Well yes, they can… for a while. History is full of examples of leaders who didn’t care about people appearing to be effective. The key word there is “appearing.” They appeared to be successful leaders because in the short-term, compliance can be confused for commitment. 

 

People in leadership positions can force people to comply and that compliance can and often does result in short-term success. The problem with compliance is that it lasts only as long as the leader. When the leader is gone, whether it be for a long lunch, a weeks vacation or something even longer, the compliance goes with them. 

 

When someone in a leadership position has a high Care Factor then they have the opportunity to authentically lead. These leaders don’t need the compliance of their people because they earn their commitment. When a high CF leader is not present the commitment from their people continues whether the leader is there to see it or not. 

 

It’s important for a leader to know their CF, they must know it and be consciously aware of the need to grow it at every opportunity. But as important as it is for a leader to know their CF, it is vital that their followers know it. 

 

That’s why Authentic Leaders do more than say they care. They show it. They get to know their people on a personal level. It’s important to understand what I mean by “personal level.” It doesn’t necessarily mean you have a personal social type relationship with them. It does mean that you know more about them, way more, than their employee number. 

 

Leaders interested in showing they care invest time in their people. They learn about their goals, both personal and professional, and do what they can to help them achieve both. They understand the challenges of their people, again both personal and professional and do whatever they can to help in both areas. 

 

The definition of Authentic Leadership will likely be debated until the end of time but this much is certain. You can care about people without leading them but you cannot authentically lead them without caring for them. 


If you’re truly going to lead then you’ll need to care enough to do more than say you care. You must care enough to show it!

The Mistaken Leader

Steve Keating 5 Comments

Lots, in fact most, people newly promoted to a position of leadership make the huge mistake of believing that their new position actually makes them a leader. 

 

They are mistaken. 

 

Being promoted to a leadership position and given a fancy title does not make you a leader. No matter what position you hold or title you have you must earn the right to truly lead. Leading others requires at least some level of commitment from them and you cannot force commitment, you can only earn it.

 

Perhaps the fastest and certainly the best way to earn the right to lead is to consistently demonstrate that you care for the people you would lead. The best leaders proactively and intentionally show they care, they show that they understand that they lead human beings with goals, challenges and life circumstances just like every other human being. 

 

They don’t “take” the time to know their people, they don’t “make” the time, and they don’t “find” time to interact with their people. They “invest” time with their people so that they truly know them and that “invest in people” mindset makes all the difference in the world. 

 

When a person in a leadership position sees their people as an investment it changes how they relate to them in every situation. If you as a leader feel forced to “spend” time on your people that too will affect how you relate to them and they will feel as if they are an expense and not an investment. That’s not a feeling that leads to commitment. 


Don’t be a mistaken leader. Regardless of your role, title or position work hard to earn the trust and respect of your people on a daily basis. There really is no other way to authentically lead.

A Culture of Caring

Steve Keating 10 Comments

Every now and then I’ll receive a tweet or a response to a blog post that says the stuff I write sounds good in theory but it isn’t realistic in today’s business world. 

 

In particular people seem to take issue with my frequent statements that you can’t truly lead people until and unless you truly care about them.

 

I’m told “caring” is a sure path to failure. It’s a weakness that no business can afford today. They say that caring for your people is a luxury of bygone eras. Some people have even told me caring about your people is just plain stupid. 

 

I generally don’t respond, or I respond with a recommendation that they at least give caring a chance. But last week after reading a really terrible tweet I told the person that I was really glad I didn’t work for them and then in the spirit of practicing good human relations I told them I hoped they enjoyed the cave they were living in.

 

Okay, so that might not have been Dale Carnegie style human relations but the guy was pretty abusive with his comment. 

 

In my opinion, if we ever get to the point where caring about our fellow human beings indeed becomes impractical then we might as well hang it up. Would there be any point to living if we couldn’t care about people anymore? It doesn’t matter if we’re talking life in general or we’re talking business in particular, caring is never wrong and it’s never a weakness.

 

The fact is that the more you build a culture of caring within your organization the more stable and successful, and by successful I also mean profitable, your organization will be. I am completely at a loss when trying to understand people who seem to sincerely believe that you can get more out of people by treating them like dirt than you can get by treating them like the valued human beings that they actually are.

 

I will never understand how a “leader” could expect their people to take care of customers when those same people are not cared about by their leader. It just doesn’t work. It has never worked and I can’t imagine how it ever could. 

 

If you’re a leader who expects your people to care about your customers enough to provide them with top quality customer service then you better be a leader who consistently demonstrates how much you care about your people.

 

People who aren’t cared about, who don’t know with some degree of certainty that they are cared about, are far less likely to care themselves. 


A culture of caring will never weaken your organization, it can only strengthen it.  Don’t even think about believing otherwise.