Why Caring About People Should Be At The Heart Of Leadership

Dr Karen Morley (pictured below) is a leadership specialist and author of Lead like a Coach and Gender Balanced Leadership: An Executive Guide.
In this guest post, the goodly doctor talks the massive benefits to any organisation when people feel cared for…
The demands of leadership continue to increase in pace and complexity. Leaders have to care about more things than ever before. Why should caring about people be elevated to leaders’ number one concern?
Under the pressure of escalating demands, most leaders adopt a command-and-control style of leadership with their teams, according to Nink and Robison from Gallup. They don’t delegate enough, they overwork and end up feeling overburdened. Teams disengage. Leaders and their teams end up producing less, while also jeopardising everyone’s wellbeing and increasing the risk of burn-out.
Leaders who put caring about their people at the heart of their leadership take a different approach. They focus on the team and how the team can be supported to produce results. Rather than increasing control, they care for their team by adopting a coaching style.
Caring leaders cultivate trust with their people by supporting and developing them. They readily delegate work and responsibility. They do what they can to equip team members to do their best work. Not only does more and better-quality work get done, this also has the enormous benefit of relieving the pressure on leaders.
Coaching conveys benevolence; it signals genuine care and support. The more people experience their leader as someone who is caring and supportive, the deeper the trust. Through coaching, team members provide input and suggestions and this helps them to feel valued and appreciated.
Only about one-fifth of people feel that they get feedback from their boss that helps them to do better work. About the same proportion feel they are managed in a way that motivates them to do outstanding work. The care factor is noticeably absent. When people perceive their leaders to be benevolent, they are more likely to reciprocate. They work harder for longer and are more likely to go above and beyond what’s required.
On a practical level, care means learning and development. This translates into regular coaching conversations between managers and their teams. Frequent on-the-job coaching will do more to build a learning culture than anything else. For leaders, this means genuinely asking people how they are going and finding out what support they need. Managers are less focused on the task and what has been done because it is only part of the picture.
With a coaching mindset, the focus is to enable the team and each member to grow to full potential. When you put care at the heart of leadership, that’s the most important contribution.
To be a leader who cares, begin by understand the motivations, emotions and interests of your people. Having this understanding means you can align their and your needs more readily. Next, make sure you manage your own emotions. As leader, your mood is highly contagious. A calm, positive emotional state helps your team to feel positive and it will also increase performance.
There’s no substitute for empathy; so also make sure you create a warm, human connection. People will support and reciprocate your care when they like you and enjoy interacting with you. Finally, provide a sense of control through choice. Choice is rewarding. Giving people responsibility and reminding them they have a choice increases their wellbeing.
Coaching focuses on each team member’s needs, interests, suggestions and development. It comes from a place of genuine inquiry. It helps them to feel valued and appreciated. When you care for your team members, they know. When they know you care, they care more about their work and satisfaction and productivity thrives.
Please login with linkedin to comment
Dr Karen MorleyLatest News

REVEALED: All The Finalists For The 2021 Snapchat Young Lions Competition
There's sure to be some tears with the reveal of the Young Lions competition. Even more so if you actually entered.

Congratulations To All Our 30 Under 30 Winners!
There is more talent in this 30 Under 30 winners list than a Manpower strip show at Panthers World Of Entertainment.

Leadership, Humanity, Technology – The Sweet Spot
The SingularityU Australia Executive Program will take place this may, celebrating leadership at the intersection of the values of humanity and the value of technology. The Elon Musks, Apples and Xeros of the world are taking risks for humanity and creating new technologies that streamline and beautify business operations. They simplify life by providing basic […]

OMD Alumnus Launches Specialist Media Agency For The Franchise Sector; TFM Digital
Brisbane media professional and former OMD Australia Account Director Taylor Fielding (pictured) has officially launched TFM Digital. TFM Digital is a specialist media agency based in Newstead which primarily provides media buying services, and strategy development, to businesses chiefly, but not exclusively, within the franchise sector. Prior to the launch of TFM Digital, Fielding spent […]

“Very Creepy”: ABC Forced To Apologise Over Navy Ship Twerking Video
This twerk video has divided the B&T office this morning. By that we mean "hilarious" to "absolutely f@cking hilarious".

Urth Teams Up With Croud To Drive International Growth
The Australian camera accessory brand, Urth, famed for their focus on sustainability, has appointed Croud as their new digital marketing partner, in order to power global and local growth.

VMG Digital And TreSensa Join Forces To Provide Best-Of-Breed Playable Ads
Leading mobile creative technology companies, VMG Digital and TreSensa Technologies, join forces to fuel best-of-breed playable Facebook Ads to help clients drive app installs.

Furphy Celebrates Tellers Of Tall Tales In New ‘Unearthing Unbelievable’ Brand Experience
Eight in ten Aussies (86%)* believe telling a furphy is a unique part of Australian culture, now Furphy is on a mission to celebrate the art of storytelling and uncover the nation’s best furphies.

Know A Standout Marketing Boss? Nominate Them For B&T’s CMO Power List!
B&T's on the hunt for Australia's top marketers! Sure, not as interesting as Australia's top yodellers or log rollers.

Winners! Frocks! Tears! Your Party Pictorial To Last Night’s 30 Under 30!
Judging by the hangovers in the B&T office today you can count yourself damn lucky we even managed this photo thingy.

Publicis Groupe Beats Q1 Expectations, As Aussie Ops Record “Dynamic Organic Growth”
B&T would've added sacre bleu to this Publicis headline, however, we have no idea what it means or how to spell it.

Canva Brings Instagram Scheduling To Canva Pro
Canva owners set to become even more obscenely billionairey after doing latest thing.

Getty Images Announces $US85,000 In Grants For Photojournalists
In this day & age of tech behemoths & media barons, it's nice to see the humble old photojournalist getting a look in.

How To Harness The Skills Of A Gen Y & Z workforce To Future-Proof Your Business
Look, it's top tips to harnessing your Gen Y and Z employees sans any Spanish Inquisition torture techniques.

FutureFeed Appoints Five By Five For Global Launch
Launch marketing specialists Five by Five Global have been appointed by FutureFeed to develop their brand, international certification trademark and go to market strategy. The innovative livestock feed ingredient developed by CSIRO, Meat and Livestock Australian and James Cook University uses a specific genus of seaweed, Asparagopsis, which significantly reduces methane emissions in ruminant livestock. […]

Clems Melbourne Announces 10 New Starters
Excellent hair clearly part of the recruitment process, as Clems Melbourne announces 10 new hirsute starters.

Thursday TV Wrap: Gogglebox Continues Rise While Seven Wins The Night
B&T hosted the 30 Under 30 awards last night AND is bringing you last night's telly numbers. Live the lies here.

SKMG’s Andrew Knowles Snares B&T’s 30 Under 30 For PR
Andrew Knowles, partner and co-founder of the corporate communications consultancy Shoebridge Knowles Media Group (SKMG), has won the PR category in the 2021 B&T 30 Under 30 Awards. Knowles received the award at a ceremony in Sydney last night, claiming victory in a highly competitive field that included leading executives from some of Australia’s biggest […]

WPP AUNZ Launches NextGen Leaders Program
WPP AUNZ says its nextgen leaders program isn't solely open to the company's crawlers and sycophants.

JCDecaux Launches Programmatic Offering & Announces Partnership With Adobe, Building A New Digital And Data Ecosystem
JCDecaux announces Adobe partnership. Which, admittedly, isn't as interesting as, say, a Dannii Minogue partnership.

VGood Launches ‘Undercover Healthy’ Creative Campaign
VGood is a "nut-free, chickpea based range of snacks". Absolutely perfect for boring everyone with your dietary habits.

Nova Boy Turns Up The Feel Good In A New National Marketing Campaign
To its credit, this NOVA pretty press photo totally debunks the "face for radio" adage.

Purpose-led PR And Digital Marketing Agency Compass Studio Wins New Clients B Lab Australia & New Zealand And Verve Super
Boutique PR and digital marketing agency Compass Studio announces a host of new clients this month including B Lab Australia & New Zealand and Verve Super.

LEGOLAND And Vision Australia Team Up For LEGO Braille Bricks
Vision Australia unveils LEGO Braille Bricks. B&T doubts it'll stop you treading on the painful little buggers, however.

The Trade Desk Kicks Off Beta Testing Of Unified ID 2.0 In Australia
For those not in the know, beta testing is a technological term for "we've got no effing idea if this is gonna work".

Einsteinz Communications Marks 20th Anniversary By Joining Global Tech PR Specialist Network, The With Global Alliance
Einsteinz Communications announced today it has joined the Global tech PR agency network, the With Global Alliance.

Yubo Chooses Ogilvy Social.Lab As Their New Agency
For the record, Yubo is a social platform & not to be mistaken with drunk NRL fans more commonly referred to as 'yobbo'.

Setapp Campaign Dives Into Viral Tech Stories
Super Simple Stories answers all the questions you never knew you had about technology innovations

AFL Names Therabody As Its Official Recovery Partner
The AFL is delighted to welcome Therabody as its Official Recovery Partner of the 2021 Toyota AFL Premiership Season. Therabody’s industry-leading devices and research will be integrated into pre-match training and post-match recovery routines to help prevent injuries and help improve overall athletic performance. Therabody will also become the naming partner for the end-of-season AFL […]

Seven Ramps Up Olympics Offering 100 Days Out From Tokyo
The off-again, on-again Olympics are back on again and just as half-a-million hotdog frankfurts reach their expiry date.