You may have heard the saying, “People don’t quit companies. They quit leaders.”
This begs the question…
How do you become a leader people don’t want to quit?
It’s a multifaceted question, of course, but the #1 answer is to be an emotionally intelligent leader. Part of being emotionally intelligent is knowing how to build trust and connection with your team members.
Here’s an example.
My business manager, Ali, started working with us back in mid-February. I learned her story—what makes her tick, why she was interested in working with us—and she learned the same about me—what makes me tick, my vision for the company, etc.
Right off the bat, we had a mutual respect for one another’s stories, and we had mutual vision for our futures.
But about a month into our work relationship, things got rocky.
We started having strong disagreements, to the point where we decided to take a week away from each other. At the end of the week, we would decide if we should part ways or not.
When that week was up, we both agreed we wanted to find a way to make things work. The only reason we were willing to do that was because we knew each other’s stories.
We had built trust with one another early on, and as a result, we knew we had a shared passion for why we do what we do, why we care about the people we serve, and why we care about the company we’re building.
And we realized: our problems boiled down to expectations and communication—two elements of a workplace relationship that are an easy fix if you’re both emotionally intelligent. So, we dug in, had difficult conversations, improved our relationship, and have loved working together!
See, so much of a workplace relationship is built on emotional intelligence and building trust. And one of the most powerful ways to do that is through storytelling.
When things with Ali and I seemed to be falling apart, thank goodness we had built that trust through storytelling. Now, she’s the yin to my yang, and I don’t know what I’d do without her!
Don’t miss out on amazing employees and incredible workplace relationships through something as simple swapping stories. Practice being an emotionally intelligent leader!
One way to do this is to set aside time each week for different members of your team to share their story. Start building trust from the ground up and watch how this positively affects your workplace.
Note: This is also a really powerful way to unite a remote workplace!
If you want to learn more about how to build your emotional intelligence and grow as an emotionally intelligent leader, check out our blog, “Is Emotional Intelligence A Skill Or A Quality?”
