One day, my father was having a meeting with his team members. They were discussing the financial plan for the next quarter. This is the time when the phone rang.
My father ignored it.
After 3 rings, one of the team members looked at him and asked, “Sir, aren’t you going to answer that? What if it’s important”
He smiled and said, “No. I don’t know whether that call is important or not, so it can wait. What I do know is that this meeting is important.”
Feeling valued, she got a big smile and they continued the conversation with new energy.
The Lesson:
What you pay attention to, and how you respond to things matter a great deal to your team.
If you meet with your people and let push notifications, texts, IMs, and calls constantly distract you, you’re telling your team those things are more important than them.
When people don’t feel valued, they won’t trust you, or bother to bring issues to you unless they feel they will get your attention. It’s a great way to end up in a constant fire-fighting, reactive management mode.
Leadership Lessons:
- Your action is important. But more important is the motive behind that action.
- If you are in a meeting, especially with your subordinates, and calls, messages, pus notifications distract you, you’re indirectly communicating to your team those things are more important than them.
- If your employees feel valued, they will contribute unknowingly and willingly.