Level Up Through Strong Relationships

People can work alone, but not as well as when there’s someone to help them do it. Building relationships with the people we work with is a crucial leadership skill that we should all learn.

Having similar core values with the people you deal with, brings you closer to your goals and level up individual leadership skills as well as the entire work or business culture.

According to Jason Lippert, President, and CEO of LCI Industries, it takes courage, effective communication, and servant leadership to  build trusting relationships. With these, it’s not only the leaders who will improve but also the business culture and well-being of the team. Eventually, you will be able to reach and create an impact on a lot of people and transform their lives. ‍

Embrace Courage

Leadership should never be static. It needs improvement and leveling up. Doing this would require courage, especially if it is something that you haven’t done before. Embrace courage by challenging yourself and being open to criticism, so you’ll know where your blind spots are - where you should improve.

You don't need to get to the pinnacle of leadership. It's always a continuing journey. So there's no top, but you know, it's not a race, just take steps and make progress: improve. - Jason Lippert

It’s not about how fast you become a good leader, or how better you are compared to others, it’s a matter of knowing that you can still improve and practice doing it. So, once you have identified your areas of improvement, challenge yourself to keep going. Make sure you start somewhere because leadership is an ongoing journey.

Exert Servant Leadership

Being a good leader doesn’t begin and end with giving tasks and assignments. Although leaders usually default to giving orders and telling people what and how to do things, members prefer being seen.  Reach out and spend time with them to find ways how you can serve them better. 

It's hard to serve somebody if you don't know them or you haven't built a relationship or a trusting relationship. So start with building the relationship. - Jason Lippert

Begin by building a relationship then find ways to help the team. Everything will go smoothly once you have established a good relationship with the people you work with.

Engage in Effective Communication

Communication plays a vital role in every relationship. And if you’re establishing a strong one, make sure you don’t stumble with the barriers. Even though several mediums like email, texts, and video calls have been very useful, they still don't carry the exact message and feeling you can convey in a face-to-face conversation.   

We tend to lose some of the thoughts in a conversation when we get its translation from a gadget or a device. Miscommunication and misunderstandings easily get in our way because we can’t tell exactly where the other person stands. 

Take time to recognize your people for doing great things for the team and the business because it also serves as a part of your servant leadership. Make sure you hear them out and give them opportunities to speak up and grow.

Take time and listen to your teams and just be intentional about it. - Jason Lippert

It’s easy to begin and end a meeting or a conference with one person speaking - the boss or the leader. However, that wouldn’t do you good in the long run. If you want to help your people improve, be interested, you need to open doors for them to enhance and develop leadership skills. Encourage them to play a part in a meeting – be the speaker, ask questions, share their thoughts, etc. 

How are they (your people) going to get better at leadership and participation and communication on their end if you're not coaching? It's a way to coach people into becoming a better communicator and a better leader. - Jason Lippert

Engaging in effective communication requires great listening skills. You have to make the other people feel that their thoughts, ideas, and opinions are valid and are being taken into consideration. It’s through listening where we learn the most, so take the opportunity to get ideas from your people and be a proactive leader.