In a recent casual meeting with a young man, he surprised me by deliberately turning his cellphone ringer off and putting it in his pocket. After his first marriage disintegrated, he’s trying to develop the habit of being deliberately present and in the moment in his interactions with others.
We at Executive Advantage live life on the fast track. In the midst of racing into the future, it’s easy to neglect the people who matter the most. We’ve noticed we can even become distracted while others are talking to us. Usually it’s because we’re thinking about what we’re going to say next or remembering an experience we want to share with the individual while they share their thoughts.
We all want to be noticed. If you can’t relate, then think about what happens when you get home from work and your kids want your attention. Been there and done that.
To pay attention means to be mentally, spiritually and physically present with whom we’re with, not just there taking up space and time. When relating to those we are the most familiar (our employees), we can easily be there and not really be there at the same time.
See if this fits you? When life gets busy we often relate on a very utilitarian basis. Just the facts please. We become self-centered rather than we centered. This may result in valuing others based on what they do for us rather than for who they are as human beings.
Connection builder — Attentiveness
Attentiveness keeps our relationships from failing by asking us to value other persons. Our inattention is often interpreted as we don’t value others we treat them as just employees. The problem with this is just employees perform at the compliance level rather than the great level.
Attentiveness keeps our relationships from failing by asking us to value other persons. Our inattention is often interpreted as we don’t value others we treat them as just employees. The problem with this is just employees perform at the compliance level rather than the great level.
Some of you are asking, “What about the time factor?” Yes, time is an issue for all of us, but the journals we read indicate that attentiveness is less about time and more about presence. It’s being fully attuned to another person.
We are all attentive to something. Here’s a question for you. Are your employees of high enough priority that you can set aside your agenda for them? When you can say, “Yes!” then the moments you spend with your employees will truly be of far greater value than the hours you spend on other things.