Share your CARE with your team
Share your care with your team, and you will have a magnificent team.
“Folks don’t care how much you know, until the know how much you care.” - Dr. John C. Maxwell
The easiest way for me to remember to care for my associates is the acronym CARE. It reminds me how to treat them all year long.
C is for Compassion - I show my team as much compassion as I’d want to be given, maybe more. Things happen that sometimes take us off track. Things like the death of a loved one, a car breaking down, whatever. If it’s not a pattern, it’s not a problem. Sharing compassion means giving folks the benefit of the doubt when, not if, things go wrong.
A is for Authenticity - I authentically share my emotions with folks on my team. No, I don’t dump on them and complain about my manager, other managers, or other folks on the team. I do show them when I hurt, admit when I make mistakes, and that I am an authentic human being, just like them.
R is for Respect - I give my team respect before they earn it. I recognize they may not always make the right decision, but they always try to make the best decision at the time with the information they have and the information they’ve learned in the past. If a decision needs to be made and I’m not around, I’d rather they take the shot then be afraid to make a decision. As long as nobody dies, it’s no big deal. And I haven’t lost a patient (yet!).
E is for Encouragement - I encourage my team to grow, to learn, to try new things, and to aim far beyond the target they think they can reach. And I’m there to pick them up when they fall, help them dust off, and do it again the next day.
Have you CARE’d for your team lately? If not, why not?
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POSTED IN: coaching, management
4 opinions for Share your CARE with your team
Craig Huggart
Dec 7, 2007 at 10:33 am
Phil:
Loved the post. Such great communication in so few words.
Managers that do these things are GREAT managers.
Craig
Rosa Say | Managing with Aloha
Dec 7, 2007 at 4:55 pm
I’m with Craig Phil. Great post. The value of caring in Hawaiian is Malama, and it is thought of as one of stewardship. The great managers are those who are the caring stewards of their organizational cultures, and your acronym book-ends of Compassion and Encouragement balance each other out very well, so that compassion never slides into commiseration.
Phil Gerbyshak
Dec 7, 2007 at 9:28 pm
Craig - Thank you very much for your comment. I agree, managers that do this ARE great!
Rosa - Balance is important for all of us to remember, for if we don’t balance, we tip, which is no good for anyone, especially not a manager.
Thanks to both of you for sharing your insights.
Bob Turek
Jan 8, 2008 at 8:55 pm
Phil- I like the acronym approach. Rosa’s stewardship comment reveals more about care. I like to think of it in Biblical terms as both stewardship (caring for what God provides you) and a servant mentality that reveals you will do what it takes to make your people successful.
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