Give People Your Undivided Attention

Give people your full attention - and you will be appreciated as a strong leader.

This will sound like common sense - unfortunately there isn’t much of it out there. You have all been there - meeting with someone formally, or just chatting, and their attention is anywhere but on you. Perhaps you are in a department meeting and your boss answers any phone call that interrupts as if his team is the last thing on his list of important items. A person may be greeting you but they are looking around the room for the next person to chat with. Or you go to someone’s office to see them and they are checking their email, or answering their phone. I have even been speaking with a person on the phone who was trying to juggle one or more other phone calls at the same time.

I know, I hear you - maybe it’s me! Well I imagine it has been on occasion - but I know in most cases these are people who feel too busy, too much of a slave to their work and have deluded themselves into thinking that they can multitask.

If you are a leader doing this to your employees, trust me you are not earning their confidence. They will lose their desire to speak with you and communication in the office will break down. Your effectiveness as a leader will be seriously compromised. If you are hoping to accelerate your career, such behavior will most certainly not instill confidence in your superiors.

Focus on the person, even if you have to limit their time

It is a fact of life that you are busy. But rather than trying to do too much at one time and to satisfy everyone, you would be much better served to focus on the people you are dealing with, even if it has to be a brief encounter. If you lead a very busy life nobody will be upset if you begin a meeting with a time budget - “John, you deserve my full attention, and that’s what you will get - but I have only 5 minutes today. If we can deal with this in 5 minutes then fantastic - if you need more time we’ll need to schedule it Thursday.” People will appreciate your frankness, and especially in a group meeting everyone will be happy - after all who likes meetings?

When you meet this way, deliver on your promise. Turn off your phone or have it answered for you. Close the lid to your laptop, or better still get out from behind your desk and meet face to face. Don’t scan the room but look at the person or people you meet with directly. If someone approaches you to interrupt, be polite but firm - “Sorry Susan, but I promised this time to John, can you see me later?”

Rather than appearing frantic, uninterested and disorganized, people will see you as a firm but respectful leader who values their work and their opinions. In turn they will be more respectful of your time, and they will probably pick up this good habit and it will spread in your organization.

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