How many leaders do you know who are approachable?
Who put you at ease and make it easy to talk to them?
Who spend extra time and attention really listening to you?
Who make you feel comfortable?
Who have patience?
Do you know any leader with all those traits? If so, you are lucky.
Most leaders create segregation and separation, and miss the mark when it comes to accessiblity.
How can you become more approachable?
Put people at ease. An approachable leader makes people feel comfortable and at ease. People at ease can work together, connect, and communicate without fear of retribution.
Listen intensively. Approachable leaders listen more than they speak. As a leader, you don’t always have to fix things. Listening attentively is a key element of letting others speak and come up with solutions.
Stay curious. Approachable leaders stay open and ask lots of questions. Stay curious and interested – there is always room to learn something new.
Stop secrets. Approachable leaders do not advocate keeping secrets. When you freely share personal and business information, you allow people to get to know you so they can understand you.
Be a sounding board. Approachable leaders understand that people will come to them with good and bad news. Show compassion and empathy; let people know they can always come to you.
Earn total trust. Approachable leaders possess a lot of information. Be intelligent and ethical in your use of this information, and give your people reason to trust you.
Remember, when you make yourself approachable you are looking for the best in your employees. You are valuing others for who they are.
As a leader, you don’t only lead – you must also stay open and listen. You must embrace compassion and engage empathy. Making yourself approachable and accessible it’s the secret ingredient to great leadership.
Lead From Within: Leadership is getting the best in your people. Make being approachable the governing trait of your leadership.
Of Lolly’s many awards and accolades, Lolly was designated a Top-50 Leadership and Management Expert by Inc. magazine. Huffington Post honored Lolly with the title of The Most Inspiring Woman in the World. Her writing has appeared in HBR, Inc.com, Fast Company (Ask The Expert), Huffington Post, and Psychology Today, and others. Her newest book, The Leadership Gap: What Gets Between You and Your Greatness has become a national bestseller.
Warning: Use of undefined constant woothemes - assumed 'woothemes' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /srv/www/paramvir.0001.ro/lollydaskal/wp-content/themes/lolly-daskal/comments.php on line 23
Warning: Use of undefined constant woothemes - assumed 'woothemes' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /srv/www/paramvir.0001.ro/lollydaskal/wp-content/themes/lolly-daskal/comments.php on line 23
Warning: Use of undefined constant woothemes - assumed 'woothemes' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /srv/www/paramvir.0001.ro/lollydaskal/wp-content/themes/lolly-daskal/comments.php on line 23
16 Responses
Warning: Use of undefined constant woothemes - assumed 'woothemes' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /srv/www/paramvir.0001.ro/lollydaskal/wp-content/themes/lolly-daskal/comments.php on line 23
to “Leadership: Be Approachable”
Trackbacks/Pingbacks
-
December 12, 2012
[…] Leadership: Be Approachable Written by: Lolly Daskal […]
-
June 24, 2016
[…] to. Being that go-to guy or gal will pay off at both work and in your personal life, notes Lolly Daskal, founder of Lead from Within, a global consultancy that has counseled heads of state, consulted […]
-
April 3, 2018
[…] sharing details about yourself makes you more relatable and personable. You’ll be surprised how often you find common ground with people around […]
-
April 23, 2020
[…] Lolly Daskal. (n,d). Leadership: Be Approachable. Retrieved from https://www.lollydaskal.com/leadership/leadership-be-approachable/ […]
Dorothy Dalton
11. Dec, 2012
Lolly – I have had the pleasure of knowing some excellent leaders and they were without exception approachable – for the most part.
I add that last caveat because good leaders have to be effective time managers and oftentimes approachability is a time eater. In those cases they had the wisdom to appoint a
“gate keeperer” who could carry out a triage.
This mainly worked, but there is always someone who feels they don’t get the attention they deserve.
lollydaskal
11. Dec, 2012
Dorothy,
Absolutely true, there is always someone who feels they don’t get the attention they deserve.
And I love the idea of gate keeper carrying out the triage.
Wonderful added wisdom.
Thanks so much
Lolly
Devron
11. Dec, 2012
Hi Lolly, love you blog and it is an interesting point to raise. I have met and know many great leaders but they simply don’t tick all the boxes.
Most leaders surround themselves with a circle of trusted people who become their deflectors to the masses. Not sure I agree with this but I do realize that our world becomes more instant and people and resources become more accessible, transparency may be key to greater leadership.
lollydaskal
11. Dec, 2012
Devron,
I always believe we can slow down to go faster, and in that sense be accessible and approachable so people do not take up all the time putting out fires…. Make time for small bite size of information ….in the long run it serves everyone.
Beth Miller
12. Dec, 2012
Lolly,
The leaders I have worked with have had the ability to show that they cared. And approachability is one way to demonstrate you care about those you lead.
The hardest for most is dealing with the interruptions without making those approaching you feel that they are interrupting. Those leaders with finesse can welcome an interruption with a smile. Many leaders require development in this area of “joyful” interruption.
Ade Sobanjo
12. Dec, 2012
Thanks Lolly,
I have had to deal with balancing being approachable with being an effective time manager lately. What I resolved to doing is to always be approachable when I am available and to do all my “serious” work away from the public. That means if you see me then I will try to always be ready to listen to you.
Edgy Dulds
12. Dec, 2012
I come to know someone who doesn’t even care to meet his staff for one year [and counting]. Just do a one-on-one talk on a once-in-a-blue-moon moment. Also shows clear bias in the room.
Edgy Dulds
12. Dec, 2012
And when you come to his desk, he’ll just say, “Yes, that’s what I was thinking,” “Yes.” “B;ah. Blah.” and yet no action will be done.
Marc Zazeela
13. Dec, 2012
Lolly – Love this stuff. Good leaders do not reside in ivory towers.
Cheers,
Marc
Andy Phillips
13. Dec, 2012
It’s a very important point Lolly particularly when you say about not having to always fix things. I remember being told once by someone “I don’t want you to solve my problem I want you to understand my problem”. This was a major learning moment for and since I have focussed on understanding and letting the solving emerge.
Always love your blog etc
Andy
Anna Christina
14. Dec, 2012
Great post. I struggle with balancing time management and being approachable. I am trying to address this by being proactive about approaching my employees at some point throughout the day to check in. It helps me limit the distractions and still touch base with them.
Stacie Walker
14. Feb, 2014
Lolly,
I simply loved this post. You delivered nice and strongly. You are such an inspiration to me. Thanks for being a fine example for us to grow into better leaders.
Best.
Stacie Walker
Woman in Leadership Founder