This week I have been reflecting on the fact that great leaders are masters at reading non-verbal communication and knowing exactly what their team members need, and what is going on for them, before they even ask for it. This is because great leaders are really grounded and present and tuned into their surroundings.
At this time of year my horses coats are molting and that makes them really itchy. The best solution for them is to roll around on the floor so they can give themselves a good scratch. Now two of my horses have been wearing rugs all winter so it is more difficult for them to get to scratch and roll. So it is no surprise that on a sunny day at the weekend, when I took their rugs off, they would want to roll. Knowing this I created a great experience for them where they could roll in a deep sandy area. They just loved it. A great example of knowing what your team need even before they ask for it.
As masters of being to read non-verbal communication clues, great leaders also recognise when team members are not “quite right” and functioning at their best. Great leaders read the energy of their team members to know something is amiss. We all have this ability. Just think about a time you went into a room and when you asked how everyone how they were, they replied fine. And yet you intuitively knew that something was up. You could do this as you were tuned into the energy in the room and intuitively something just didn’t feel right.
Just imagine the impact you can make on a team member when you acknowledge this fact and then take steps to help them. It really shows you care, and this simple act can go a long way to foster team engagement and motivation.
So today, please pay attention to what is happening with those around and seek to acknowledge what others need before they have to articulate it. This will bring untold benefits.
Have a great week and please share on the facebook group what happened for you.
Julia Felton (aka The Business Wrangler) is the founder of Business HorsePower. Business leaders, entrepreneurs and executives hire her to accelerate their business performance by harnessing the energy of their people to work more collaboratively together. By aligning purpose with actions the team achieves exponential results as everyone starts pulling in the same direction.
Julia believes that business is a force for good and through designing purpose-driven businesses that leverage the laws of nature, and the herd, you can create businesses founded on the principles of connection, collaboration and community that make a significant impact in the world.
