Tag Caring

How to Be a Difference Maker

Steve Keating 2 Comments

I recently left a company I had worked at for many years. I had fully intended to work there at least a couple more years, but I decided it was best to leave instead. I left for one main reason: I was no longer able to make a difference there.

The values of the company had changed dramatically over the last couple of years. There were lots of new faces and attitudes. I was shocked at the willingness to cut corners on ethics and at the unwillingness of newer people to learn the principles that had made the company great for over 100 years.

At that stage of my career, my main goal was to help others succeed. Once I determined that was no longer going to happen there, I knew it was time to go. I needed to be somewhere I could have an impact.

One of my strengths is that I’m actually a pretty average person. That means I think like most people, act like most people, and want the same things as most people. Since I want to be a difference maker, it’s likely most other people do as well.

If you fall into that category, then this post is for you.

Making a difference for people often starts with small, meaningful actions. Here are some ways that you can create a positive and lasting impact on the lives of others.

1. Practice Empathy and Listen Actively

Take the time to understand others’ perspectives without judgment. Sometimes, listening and making people feel heard is powerful on its own. It will take time to do this but giving some of your time to others is perhaps the greatest gift you can give. That’s because once you give someone else your time, you can never get that back. Giving someone your time is a powerful sign that you care enough for them to truly want to help.

2. Share Your Skills or Knowledge

If you have expertise in a certain area, offer to help others develop those skills or solve problems. Mentoring or tutoring can empower others and boost their confidence. This is an excellent way to leave a part of yourself behind once you’re gone.

3. Volunteer for Causes You Care About

Engage with organizations or community projects that align with your values, whether it’s helping the homeless, supporting education, or protecting the environment.

4. Support People Emotionally

Being there for friends, family, or coworkers in times of need can be one of the most meaningful ways to make a difference. Small acts of kindness, like offering a compliment or checking in, can have a BIG impact.

5. Be Consistent in Your Support

True change often comes from sustained efforts. Show up regularly and be reliable in your efforts to help others. This builds trust and can inspire long-term improvement.

6. Advocate for Positive Change

Speak up to bring attention to issues that matter. This might mean raising awareness about inequality, advocating for policy change, or simply educating those around you on topics they may not know about. Stick up for those who may not be able to stick up for themselves. If you can’t think of a reason to do that, try this… it’s simply the right thing to do.

7. Practice Compassionate Leadership

If you’re in a position of influence, lead in a way that puts people first. Encourage fairness, and respect, which can create a more positive culture for everyone involved. This doesn’t mean you have to go all woke. It means being the kind of person you’d like other people to be.

8. Be a Role Model

By living with integrity, kindness, and responsibility, you inspire others to do the same. Small, positive behaviors can create a ripple effect that encourages others to make a difference too. Strive to always be the best version of yourself possible. People are always watching; be an example of excellence for them, and yourself.

You do not have to be a superhero to make a difference. You don’t have to be famous, and you don’t need a position of authority. You just need to be you. Who you are today is more than enough to make a difference in this world. You only need to decide what kind of difference you want to make.

Making a difference doesn’t require grand gestures; sometimes the most impactful changes come from everyday acts of compassion and commitment. You have it within yourself to do this; the only question is… do you have the will to do it?

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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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How to Develop Empathy

Steve Keating 2 Comments

The benefits of developing a deeper level of empathy are many. When you understand your own emotions you can better understand the emotions of others. When you understand the how and why of their emotions you can communicate much more effectively. You’ll make better decisions. Managing our emotions, and understanding why others may not be able to manage theirs, will lower our stress levels. We can think more logically.

Understanding the emotions of others helps us be less judgmental. That helps us build better, more meaningful relationships. The more empathetic you are the higher your Emotional Intelligence will be. You’ll be more willing to go beyond saying you care to actually showing you care.

Developing empathy involves understanding, sharing, and connecting with the feelings, thoughts, and experiences of yourself and others. It takes effort and intentionality but if you’re up for the rewarding challenge here are some steps you can take to cultivate empathy.

Active Listening. Practice active listening when someone is speaking to you. Give them your full attention. Keep eye contact. Focus on understanding their perspective. Don’t interrupt or think about your response.

Put Yourself in Their Shoes. Try to imagine yourself in the other person’s situation. Consider how you would feel and react if you were experiencing what they are going through. This helps you gain perspective and understand their emotions better.

Ask Open-Ended Questions. Encourage others to share their thoughts and feelings by asking open-ended questions. This allows for deeper conversations and helps you understand their experiences more fully.

Practice Non-Judgment. Avoid making assumptions or judgments about others based on their experiences or emotions. Instead, strive to understand the reasons behind their feelings and behaviors without imposing your own biases.

Be Mindful of Body Language. Pay attention to nonverbal cues such as facial expressions, tone of voice, and body language. These can provide valuable insights into how someone is feeling, even when they don’t explicitly express it.

Validate Emotions. Acknowledge and validate the emotions of others, even if you don’t necessarily agree with their perspective. Let them know that you understand how they feel and that their emotions are valid.

Practice Empathetic Communication. Use empathetic language and expressions to show that you are listening and understanding. Phrases like “I understand how you feel” or “That must be really difficult for you” demonstrate empathy and support.

Cultivate Curiosity. Take an interest in learning about different perspectives and experiences. Talk to people from diverse backgrounds and cultures. This will broaden your understanding of the world and grow your empathy.

Reflect on Your Own Experiences. Think about times when you have felt similar emotions or faced similar challenges. Reflecting on your own experiences can help you relate to others on a deeper level and foster empathy.

Practice Self-Compassion. Finally, don’t forget to extend empathy to yourself. Be kind and understanding to yourself. Do this, especially when you make mistakes or face difficulties. By practicing self-compassion, you can become more empathetic towards others as well.

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How to Demonstrate that You’re a Leader Who Cares

Steve Keating Leave a comment

One of the easiest things for someone in a leadership position to do is tell their people that they care about them. The reality is, many followers doubt the sincerity of those words. That’s why Authentic Leaders remove all doubt by demonstrating, on a consistent basis, that they do actually care about their people. Demonstrating that you’re a caring leader is essential for creating a positive and productive organizational culture. It builds trust among your team members and promotes their well-being.

There are about a gazillion ways to show you care, here are several that can have an immediate impact with your team.

• Pay close attention to your team members when they speak. Show empathy by nodding, making eye contact, and asking clarifying questions. This demonstrates that you value their thoughts and concerns.

• Encourage open and honest communication within your team. Create safe spaces where people feel comfortable sharing their ideas, problems, and feedback without fear of judgment or reprisal. By the way, it’s best if the entire organization is one giant safe space. People looking over their shoulder to see if it’s “safe” to say something are less productive than those who know their safety is assured.

• Put yourself in your team members’ shoes. Try to understand their perspectives, feelings, and needs. When they face challenges or personal issues, express empathy and offer support.

• Be accessible to your team. Make sure they know they can come to you with their concerns, whether they are work-related or personal. Maintain an open-door policy, or set aside regular times for one-on-one meetings.

• Acknowledge and appreciate your team members’ contributions and accomplishments. Recognition can be verbal praise, written notes, or other forms of acknowledgment, and it shows that you value their efforts.

• Invest in your team’s professional growth. Help them set and achieve their career goals. Provide opportunities for learning and skill development, and offer guidance and mentorship.

• Promote a healthy work-life balance. Encourage employees to take breaks, use their vacation time, and avoid overloading them with excessive work. Show understanding when they need to attend to personal matters.

• Be flexible when possible. Accommodate reasonable requests for flexible work hours to accommodate people’s needs. Things like family responsibilities or personal health issues matter and you should never ignore them.

• Address conflicts and disagreements within the team promptly and impartially. Encourage a resolution process that respects everyone’s perspectives and feelings. You’ll likely have to fight the normal human behavior of playing favorites but if you want complete engagement of your team you will fight that fight.

• Demonstrate the behaviors and values you expect from your team. Show that you prioritize caring and empathy in your interactions with others.

• Recognize that each team member is unique. Tailor your leadership style and support to their individual needs and preferences. Remember, the “one size fits all” leadership style generally fits no one.

• Continuously seek feedback from your team on your leadership style and areas for improvement. Show that you are open to making changes based on their input. Listen to them and implore as many of their ideas as possible and when you can’t implement an idea tell them exactly why.

There is no doubt that consistently demonstrating that you care for your people requires effort, sometimes even great effort. But the rewards make those efforts well worthwhile. It’s also possible your efforts at showing you care will spill over into your personal life as well and improve all your relationships.

So you see, showing you care won’t only change the lives of those you lead, it could very well change your life too.

Should You Wear a Mask?

Steve Keating 14 Comments

Okay, let me point out that I know better than to write about this topic. About half of the people who read it will agree and the other 80% will think the whole mask thing is ridiculous. (Yes, I can add)

Social Media and Blogging “experts” have told me to stick the topics I’m known for. Those would be sales and leadership but heck, I haven’t had a good beat down over a blog post in a while so let’s go for it.

We should get this out of the way right up front. Yes, I wear a mask when I’m in a public area and I can’t stay at least 6 feet away from other people. Actually, I wear a mask pretty much all the time in public because very few people carry a tape measure with them. These are the same people who struggle with what 6 feet looks like. So to be safe I wear a mask….not for me, but for them. To keep them safe from me in case I have the virus and I’m asymptomatic.

That’s the whole point of wearing a mask…to keep other people safe.

I understand most of the reasons for NOT wearing a mask. One person told me the whole COVID thing is a hoax. No one, not one single person has died from the virus because the virus doesn’t exist. I pointed out that “they” indeed seem to be burying people. I was informed that the government is actually paying those people to stay in hiding so their loved ones will think they are dead. I was shocked!

I’m not sure what the end goal of the government would be for doing that. I do know the end goal of wearing a mask is to keep other people safe.

I also understand that the government can’t tell me I have to wear a mask. When they attempt to do so it infringes on my freedom. Few things are more important to me than my freedoms. Especially the freedom to needlessly and carelessly infect other people with a potentially deadly virus. Many brave men and women have died so I can have to freedom to not give a damn about anyone else.

But thanks to those same brave men and women I’m also free to attempt to keep other people safe, which is the whole point of wearing a mask.

The one thing I don’t understand is the idea of being too cool to wear a mask. I’ve never been that cool so it’s very hard for me to comprehend that concept. I’m surmising that when you’re too cool to wear a mask that you assume other people are cool with you infecting them with a potentially deadly virus. I kinda get that…I mean if I was to get infected I’m sure I’d feel better on my deathbed knowing that at least I’m dying for a good cause…. helping a really cool person continue to look cooler than me.

But I also can’t help but think that if the person was all that cool they would want to help keep other people safe, which is the whole point of wearing a mask.

So when I’m out in public and I see people not wearing a mask I can only assume a few things.

One, they are a massive conspiracy buff. Not only have they correctly identified this pandemic thing as a complete hoax they also know where Elvis is currently living.

Two, they have a very confused view of the definition of “freedom.” That confused view is causing them to do things that sadly, very sadly, some of them will deeply regret one day. Once Grandma is gone all the freedom in the world ain’t bringing her back…but hey, sacrifices must be made.

Three, they really are way cooler than me. My being near them or them seeing my face uncovered could adversely affect their coolness.

In that case it’s really really good that I’m wearing a mask, after all, the whole point of wearing a mask is to keep other people safe…even very cool people.

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.

Adjust Your Own Mask First

Steve Keating 4 Comments

I spend a fair amount of time on airplanes. So much time in fact that I think I could do the pre-flight safety announcements from memory. In you’ve ever flown you may recall the part of the safety announcements where they say, “in the unlikely event of loss in cabin pressure oxygen masks will drop from a panel above you.” They also say to adjust your own mask before helping others with theirs.

Have you ever wondered why they say that? For instance, think it would be almost instinctive to put your child’s mask on before your own. Yet, the experts advise otherwise.

That’s because they know you won’t be able to help anyone if you’re not conscious to do so. You can’t go long without air so you must help yourself first. It somehow seems wrong to do that. It seems kinda selfish. But if you truly want to help others you must make sure you’re in a condition to help. Unconscious is not a very helpful condition to be in.

The same holds true in everyday life. You must take care of yourself first if you’re going to be in any condition to take care of others. That may seem just as selfish as putting your oxygen mask on first but the same principle applies.

The more caring and giving person you are the greater the danger that you’ll forget about caring for yourself. The problem is you wear yourself down to the point where you can’t help anyone, not even yourself.

So fight the instinct to put everybody else’s oxygen mask on first. Put yours on first. That means resting before you’re overwhelmed. That means carving time out in your busy schedule to do something just for you. That means understanding that you, and the world, deserves the best of you, not what’s left of you.

Just to be clear, I’m not recommending that you do less for others. I am recommending that you do more for yourself. Taking care of yourself is the surest way to be certain that your in a position to take care of others. Don’t forget that simple fact!