More often than not, when I encounter an employee-centred leader, I am encountering an evolved individual, who is pouring goodness and goodwill into others. These leaders are special. They exude a magnetism that is charismatic. People are drawn to them and they in turn, create encounters that leave individuals feeling energised and uplifted.
It is no small wonder that when such a leader is at the helm of a department, division or business, employees flourish. This field of positive energy is exactly what drives positive customer encounters. The business that operates in this way, is investing in one of the most elusive elements of great customer experience. The human touch.
Employee-centric leaders who have invested effort into becoming evolved individuals, are surrounded by unmistakably calm energy. They are not radioactive. We live in a world where performative gestures and personal promotion override “living” values that promote the collective good. This is where these leaders stand out as beacons for framing success around an “everyone must win” philosophy. The psychological space that they create, feels inclusive and welcoming to those within its radius.
Individuals who find themselves in this leadership orbit, feel safe enough to share their most personal stories, secure in the knowledge that leakage into the public domain, will not occur. Let’s remember that employees cite lack of confidentiality, as one of the biggest saboteurs of trust at the leadership level. Because of this, wherever safe spaces exist, they are cherished by employees.
Employee-centric leaders show up in other unique ways. They are not echo chambers for ego-driven utterances or successes. They possess the quiet confidence and humility, that allow others to shine. By prioritising effective communication, cohesion and collaboration amongst team members, silos do not stand a chance of flourishing. The exchange of honest opinions is encouraged, because reading minds is exhausting business.
Employee wellness and well-being matter to evolved leaders. They practise valuing employees as “whole persons,” beyond their titles and work outputs. When employees thrive as whole persons, they become assets to themselves and to their employers. They thrive.
The overarching belief here, is that coming to work should not feel like a death sentence. Employees should feel alive, motivated and challenged to put in their best performance. Yet, from the litanies of employee woe that I encounter, there is ample opportunity for businesses to improve their scores, on the employee connectedness and engagement scale.
Employee-centric leaders understand the business of human behaviour. They have mastered the art of escalating internal employee enthusiasm, to enthusiasm for customers. When employees live in an internal reality characterised by empathy, urgency and solutions-centredness, the external reality follows suit. The alchemy produces customer resonance.
One of the most outstanding features of a transformed internal reality, is that back-end support departments change their customer-serving attitude. Traditionally, these departments consider themselves to be non-customer facing. With the advent of internal transformation to employee-centredness, they awaken to just how deeply their actions impact the customer.
The question we must answer in the context of business in T&T, is whether there is a sufficiency of employee-centred and evolved leaders, across our landscape. We live in an atmosphere where mediocrity, insufficient exposure to global leadership training and leader under-preparedness, intersect. Truth be told, our story in T&T is not unique. This is the scenario in many other territories, as well. The leaders who emerge from this messy synthesis, are those who have been exposed consistently, to higher training in leadership excellence. This, combined with a deep desire to elevate to a higher level of personal and professional excellence, produces a different kind of leader.
The need in T&T, is for businesses to awaken to the fact that customers do not feel strategy documents. They feel the energy that employees bring to customer encounters. Employee-centric leadership becomes therefore, a hard driver of revenue. So, doesn’t it make sense to invest in leaders who are willing to develop the expertise to connect employee-centredness and employee productivity, to business success?
One reminder that I hardly need to provide for CEOs, is that a disengaged workforce cannot deliver a motivated customer base. When employees are treated well, they treat both their colleagues and their customers, equally well.
