HOW TO BE AN APPROACHABLE LEADER IN THE WORKPLACE

In the UK alone, 49% of workers leave jobs because of their manager. Why? Well Total Jobs’ study reveals that:

• Only 18% of employees feel they can trust their manager

• 59% never socialise with their manager

This is a huge problem. 

But how do you fix the problem? Most managers make the mistake of going straight to the superficial fixes like team socials, 1-1 meetings or buying a table tennis table for the office. And whilst these things can be beneficial and create an engaging and fun work environment (we value all these things at enable… especially the table tennis table) it’s only a short-term fix and really – without the proper tactics, they might not even do that.

You could have a 1-1 meeting every week and employees still feel like they can’t trust you. You could have a team social every month and employees still feel uncomfortable around you – in fact – you might also feel uncomfortable. A survey in 2018 found that 69% of managers feel uncomfortable communicating with employees (The Ladders).

So how do you solve this problem, for both your team and you? Start by being approachable.

Too often managers and HR Leaders get caught up with the strategic aspects of engagement and retention and overlook relationship building. And that all starts with:

• How you present yourself to your employees

• How you perceive your employees

The same way you expect your employees to behave and work to a high standard is the same way you should put yourself to that standard.

So when you think about how you approach your employees, are you friendly, and easy to talk to? Do you see yourself as someone who can help serve them just as much as they serve you? These are vital things that will determine how employees view you, your character, and your approachability. 

In turn, these things will determine how employees feel about their jobs and whether they will engage, put in hard work, and eventually stay at the company.

With that in mind, here are four things to consider:

BE HUMAN

Being a manager doesn’t automatically mean you have to hide every level of humanity from your team. Yes, you have to be professional. Yes, you have to set a standard. Yes, you don’t want to appear incapable. But you certainly don’t want to appear cold, heartless, or robotic.

There’s certainly a misconception that humanity equals weakness and this is where managers put themselves at a huge disadvantage with their employees because humanity is the very thing they want to see from you.

Show empathy, laugh, get involved with office small talk, be present and you’ll encourage employees to do the same. Admit mistakes, apologise, ask for feedback and you’ll encourage employees to do the same.

If you want employees to feel comfortable coming to you about uncomfortable topics, you have to show them that you have the humanity to put yourself in their shoes and understand.

MAKE TIME

There’s nothing more awkward than needing to talk to a manager who is always busy and makes it known that they’re always busy. You feel like a burden at the thought of it and a time waster as your manager is irritably checking their watch throughout the entire conversation. 

Don’t be that manager.

Obviously work needs to get done and you can’t spend your days at the beck and call of your employees. But what you can do is redefine what’s classed as a priority. 

As soon as you see your employees as a distraction and put them to the bottom of your to-do list, not only is it going to look obvious to employees that you aren’t approachable, but you’re mentally accepting that you don’t want to be approachable. If everyone just leaves you alone so you can get on with the important stuff, then all will be good… right? 

If good to you looks like frustrated, unsupported, and disengaged employees then yes, fantastic.

Investing in your team will mean incredible results in the long run. 

But what about the other work you have to do? Firstly, everyone can make time. 

This doesn’t even have to be 1-1 meetings. You could do those once a month and still see the fruit from just being present. Being in the office, offering advice sporadically, sitting with an employee for 5 minutes as you give some expertise, and asking about their weekends and actually listening. 

You can also show your team members that you have things to do without being rude about it.

“Hey, I have a deadline to meet this afternoon with XYZ, but if you pop 30 minutes in my teams tomorrow morning, you’ll have my full attention. But for now, my short simple advice would be to… Tomorrow I will go into it with more detail. Have a great day!”

Something like this will go a long way and build respect in the long run with your employees because you’re making it known that you have huge responsibilities that they appreciate but you still make time for them.

SHOW RECOGNITION

No one wants to reach out to a manager who never applauds them for their hard work. This may sound ridiculous but without recognition, employees will conclude that you’re disappointed in their work.

You may say, “Well no, they’re doing a fantastic job and they’re such a valued member of the team. They’re always willing to support others and have such an eye for detail.” Tell them that.

In a previous blog post where I spoke about reward and recognition, I spoke about how when a manager genuinely acknowledges an employee's contribution, it naturally encourages trust, loyalty, and open communication. 

If someone knows they’re valued, they’ll know they’re more than welcome to ask for help. Otherwise, they may feel like they’re just draining you for information when they’re not offering anything in return.

COLLABORATE

And finally, don’t just create a culture where employees collaborate with one another, create a culture where you, the manager, collaborate with employees.

You’re working on a project where you could use some expertise from a specific employee? Collaborate. You’re putting together a proposal and there’s an excellent group of copywriters in your team? Collaborate.

Delegating work as a manager might seem daunting, but it has endless benefits, including the fact that it makes you more approachable.

Companies have been arranging team-building activities since the dawn of corporate because working together towards a shared goal is an incredible way of bonding. Collaborating will encourage you to see people’s unique skills and strengths, as well as allow you to get to know employees on a more personal level, taking away the fear or discomfort that goes with approaching you.

- Written by Oliver Howson

NEED SOME FRIENDLY ADVICE OR MORE TIPS?

If you are looking for more advice or help finding your next job, we can help, please give us a call on: 0117 301 8495 or take a look at our jobs page. Alternatively, if you’re an employer in the UK looking to recruit and need someone with real recruiting expertise then we can help – let’s chat.