A leader who avoids personal connections with his employees is making a huge mistake. If you are looking for ways to build good personal relationships with your people, while maintaining your position of authority, we have brought you a summary of an interesting article recently published on Forbes.com. John Hall, who helps companies develop and present thought leadership, came up with a simple truth: "The trick is to simply show them you care." You can achieve this in the following ways.
1. Offer help not only with work-related but also personal issues. You can help, for example, if you know one of your people is looking, unsuccessfully, for a flat to rent.
2. Do not look down on them. Do not force your people to be your servants or luggage carriers on business trips. On the contrary, empathize with their problems and offer advice on how you dealt with a similar problems. Acknowledge that you are not perfect either.
3. Be reasonably interested in their personal lives. Do not be intrusive, just show that you do not perceive your employees as servants or tools.
4. Recognize the importance of their life partners because they support each other. You should at least invite them to the company Christmas party.
5. Do not give preference to clients over employees. Be prepared to say good-bye to a client who treats your people badly. It is always better to have a good team member than an eternally dissatisfied client.
6. Be creative in rewarding your people. Offer benefits that will really improve their work or private life. It does not have to be something expensive.
7. Be as open and transparent as possible. Be straight with your people even about unpleasant situations.
8. Be available when they need you. Be careful not to send signals that you are always too busy and do not want to talk with anyone.
9. Realize how important the little things are such as thank-you e-mails, wishes for pleasant holidays and other personal messages.
10. Offer opportunities to gain new experiences. Pay attention to what your people are interested in and give them the opportunity to try it.
11. Always clearly explain your expectations and be careful to remain realistic.
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