During my triathlon I noticed that personal attention is effective and that it has several levels. While taking the time to look back at the event, I realised what the mechanics are. The question I asked myself was very simple: which type of supporters (literally) made me run faster?
In the analysis I came to the following categorization of the audience:
- People who were busy
- People who were watching
- People who were watching and clapping
- People who were watching and cheering
- People who were clapping and read out my name of my bib-number
- People who knew my name after round 3 and knew how many laps I still had to go.
It won’t come as a surprise that group 1 and 2 were least stimulating and group 6 the most. What I did find surprising is the difference in effect between group 5 and 6. To me, this difference was much bigger than the differences between the other groups. The fact that I truly felt like I was seen by some supporters, really made me run faster. Sentences like ‘You are doing great Jochem!’ and ‘Come on Jochem, one more lap, you can do it!’, were (and are) enough to give it a little extra.
What is the message for leaders?
Giving attention comes down to two things:
- Showing personal interest, and;
- Follow up on your interest.
In our daily routine, we regularly see leaders showing personal interest. However, following up on that interest is something we see much less. Yet that is were true attention is being created! That is what makes that the attention (and interest) sincere for the receiver. Hence, don’t stop at asking about someone’s weekend plans, but ask how it has been afterwards. Don’t just coach in a difficult situation, ask the next day how it is going (even if a phone call is necessary to do so). These appear to be small things, however their impact is big. Simply give it a conscious try!
As the title already suggests, this is a call to all leaders. We want to challenge you to choose one person in your team, a member to which you have a distance. For one month we ask you to give this person extra (positive) personal attention. Don’t overwhelm him or her, but some subtle extra attention and follow up. Reflect on the effect after this month. Do you see a difference? If yes, try it on a second member of your team.
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