The ‘X-Factor’ of creative leadership. 6 of 10. Manage the whole person.

If you are leading and managing teams, I think the job at the top of your list should be to nurture good relationships with all of your direct reports and those who you report into. It’s just the most important thing if you are going to succeed and progress as a leader.

But, in a work context, what exactly does a good relationship look like? I think the point here is to get a greater understanding of what makes people tick – the set of circumstances that govern their everyday lives that may have a direct consequence on how they show up at work, either in a negative or positive way.

You certainly don’t need to become their best mate – that’s definitely not the point. But do use some of your one-to-one meeting time to try and get some insight into the whole person. By purely managing the ‘worker’, you will inevitably develop some friction in your management relationships.

“They don’t care about me. They just care about this <insert-expletive> business!”

Or something like that.

You will need to develop some tact in your approach. The right questioning will lead to people opening up by their own volition. Some people are only too willing to share but some do want to keep the line between home life and work life clearly drawn. You will need to gauge how much of themselves each one of your direct reports is willing to let you manage.

We seem to call them ‘social lives’ these days, whereas we used to call them ‘private lives’. I wonder why that is?

This tactic doesn’t only apply to the people who report into you. If you are going to be able to ‘speak truth to power’ effectively with people higher up the food chain, it is equally important to build successful relationships with those you report into as well.

There’s no algorithm for this stuff. It’s all down to personal approach. But my advice would be to take it slow, remember your responsibility and use your authority carefully. You are a leader first and foremost. Good relationships are always built over time and those in the workplace are no different.