With a rising urgency for results and efficiency, leaders can easily overlook the power of the human touch in their employee and client relations. And where empathy is absent, disengagement, distrust, and churn are not too far behind.
But what if the path forward didn't have to diverge between people and profit? What if personalizing your leadership and putting employees' voices at the forefront can maximize team performance?
Laura Hancock, Chief Development Officer at Special Olympics Colorado, leads with compassion, making empathy her go-to business strategy. During our webinar, she shared how she brings communities together through a mutual passion for philanthropy and servant leadership.
1. Trusting your employees empowers them to succeed.
Leaders must balance supporting their associates with challenging them enough to encourage growth. Progress requires risk, and while identifying knowledge gaps can feel uncomfortable, teams must reframe them as learning opportunities that can help accelerate their careers.
“Many employees are committed to performing their core duties, but a lot of them also want to know how they can improve,” said Hancock. “You can say, ‘Hey, you've seen me do this; try it on your own. It’s all about strategic delegation.”
Give workers a safe space to fail, and recognize their achievements with just as much sincerity. By ensuring everyone has ownership of their individual contributions, you strengthen confidence and trust, allowing your team to be self-sustaining.
2. When you prioritize relationships, revenue will naturally follow.
People nurture revenue through various marketing and sales efforts—but Hancock believes that long-term relationship-building is the real attractor. She shared:
“Partnerships I developed years ago are still some of my close contacts. Networking has truly helped me boost revenue substantially. I was fortunate to be a part of large, transformational, multi-year, multi-million partnerships—and at the end of the day, they all came from us taking a human-centered approach…I’ve empowered my team members to do the same thing. It’s how I created that ripple-effect. How do we make sure we show up for our partners year-round? How do we stay at top of mind through relationships?”
3. Servant leadership can be quiet, but its impact is loud.
Servant leadership has continued to define Hancock’s career journey, especially as it puts employees at the forefront of success and makes organizational impact and empowerment tangible in a different, nonconventional way. Whether an executive overseeing a department or a manager responsible for two employees, it's worthwhile to share authority—because a people-first team will steward it well.
“I often see leaders thinking they need to be the loudest in the room, or the first to walk in. They think they need to have all the answers,” observed Hancock. “But it’s actually the opposite end of the spectrum. You want to uplift your team and put them in the spotlight. You want to meet their needs above your own.”
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