7 Reasons Leaders Fail: #4- Taking People for Granted

Employees keep a business moving and growing, but they’re also people who don’t want to feel as if they’re being taken for granted.

It’s easy to celebrate together when things are going well, but if leaders want their teams to rally round them when things are tough, associates need to feel appreciated and know leaders care about them as much as they’re expected to care about the business.

Emotional intelligence is as important to business as it is to personal relationships. Building solid relationships within a business is as critical as maintaining a strong customer base.

Taking employees for granted and ignoring relationship cues can lead to alienation, job dissatisfaction, low attendance at meetings and presentations, decreased productivity, and low retention rates.

Leaders must understand their own temperament and reactions, which then helps them recognize and appreciate the personality traits of their staff.

“A leader may develop blind spots,” Dan Tomal, owner of Tomal Consulting based in Wheaton, IL,
explains, so in essence, leaders must be aware of personalities and conflicts, and their impact, then take action to make improvements for maintaining and strengthening relationships within the company.

This is often achieved by knowing a few personal details, such as who has been going through individual or family issues, what’s important to them on the job, or even what their favorite hobbies or activities might be.

It can also yield results as leaders discover hidden talents and strengths that can be useful in the workplace.

This is an excerpt from a feature in the September/October 2021 issue of Produce Blueprints Magazine. Click here to read the whole issue.