When the going gets tough, true leaders take action.
Your people also need to know that you’ve got their back. Are you all talk? Or are you willing to put yourself out there for them?
Musk’s offer is one of the best ways to do this. When a manager takes the time to work alongside a frustrated team member, with a goal of better understanding that person’s perspective, good things happen. This exercise, although time-consuming, builds empathy and rapport, and can prove extremely motivating.
Unfortunately, few managers are willing to make that type of investment.
So, ask yourself today:
What is my team’s biggest challenge or pain point?
What can I do to make things better?
If you can answer those two questions–and follow through–it won’t matter what your job title is.
Michael Sauers is currently the Director of Technology for Do Space in Omaha, NE. Michael has been training librarians in technology for the past twenty years and has also been a public library trustee, a bookstore manager for a library friends group, a reference librarian, serials cataloger, technology consultant, and bookseller since earning his MLS in 1995 from the University at Albany’s School of Information Science and Policy. Michael has also written dozens of articles for various journals and magazines and his fourteenth book, Emerging Technologies: A Primer for Librarians (w/ Jennifer Koerber) was published in May 2015 and more books are on the way. In his spare time he blogs at travelinlibrarian.info, runs The Collector’s Guide to Dean Koontz Web site, takes many, many photos, and typically reads more than 100 books a year.
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