In the last blog, I talked about my granddaughter Emerson, and the learning curve that her dog, and her mother were experiencing to ensure a healthy safe relationship. The main takeaways were the importance of having caring teammates, and that you as a team leader should be kind, happy, and let your team members grow through their mistakes and not be stunted by them. In this blog, I will touch upon the importance of 
feeling valued and appreciated and why it is important to take the time to properly use the principles of a people-centered leadership approach not only when there are learning curves, but also when there are accomplishments. Last year a very talented member of our team resigned to take on a new opportunity at another company. We organized a virtual goodbye celebration that included each one of us expressing that this member was highly respected and enjoyable to work with. We recalled funny memories of past projects. I call this an “authentic human connection moment” because you could see and feel the connection each of us had with this very talented member of our team. As I watched this “authentic human connection moment”, I started to think about why we waited until they were leaving to express how much we valued and appreciated them for who they were and how important of a role they played on our team.
Why did we wait until they were leaving to express how much value they held? Could this have been a department culture thing? Were we too busy to take time to stop and celebrate each of us? Our world of design and construction moves fast, we build structures and solve problems daily. Who has time to build our employees? Don’t they arrive “prefabricated” and ready to perform? If at this very moment this story has caught your attention, then let’s get to work.
You can start with the idea that transformative change in a business cannot happen without transformative change in leadership. Reconsider prioritizing people and understand what your team members need today. “Building your people” takes a big picture viewpoint. Become aware of these “authentic human moments”, pay attention because this has a big impact on your project success. Human connections and interactions are key to any effective project. Seeing the engagement in these “authentic human moments” gives you great comfort knowing that employees are engaged as a result of using a people-centered approach to your projects. How will you implement a people-centered leadership approach beginning with developing a people care plan that reinforces authentic human connection moments?
Want more tips on rolling out a people-centered leadership plan? Check out my previous blogs. In the meantime, for more information check out my book and website at https://healthwelldone.com.
Cathy Dolan Schweitzer is an experienced coach, speaker and people-centered leader in the construction industry. For programs to help your company based on Health Well Done ideals, go to:
https://healthwelldone.com.
