Are You Missing the Good-Will Boat as a People Leader?

Everybody is motivated by different things, and good will is a primary motivator for many people. When we conduct exit interviews or meet with people who have given their notice, we hear a consistent theme as to why they are leaving:  it is a lack of connection with their team leader. They felt little to no concern for their well-being and/or didn’t feel care, empathy, or compassion from their team leader; therefore, these exiting employees had little hope that their future was in good hands or would be better than the past.

Good will is defined as care, concern, and compassion for people. When employees have good will, their standard of expectation is that they will have some level of friendship and relationship with their team leader. When a team leader shows some level of good will, an employee will be motivated to offer higher levels of discretionary effort, more collaboration and communication, and more commitment and loyalty. Good will puts an emotional hook in the minds of the employee towards the company. 

Without good will, an employee may not trust their team leader, because they don’t know him or her. A lack of trust can develop when the team leader often shows more interest in getting the work done than in providing support for the employee. The team leader can seem distant and aloof, and the employee can feel unsatisfied or even abandoned. 

If you are task-oriented, high-energy, or a type-A personality, then you may need to slow down, connect better with people, prioritize time spent with them, schedule people-connection time in your calendar, look people in the eye, show empathy, offer servant leadership, create a relationship and invest in it, and then watch what happens.   

Suddenly people will begin to talk with you more, collaborate more, bring more ideas and solutions, be more creative, and have more pep in their step, and you will wonder what changed. What changed is you! People live what they learn and learn what they live, so give them the experience that you want back. 

Be ever present, make time for people, ask for feedback on your leadership, and learn how you can support people better.

If you would like to learn your level of good will, call us today, and let’s discuss how we can measure your good will and coach you on how to use it.