Showing Genuine Interest

When I travel, it is always with the hope of “getting away.” But travelling inevitably involves contact with other people’s workplaces, and so my antennae are attentive to the health of that workplace, and the working relationship of that management and the staff. That said, my summer holidays were truly awesome–I witnessed scenery so majestic that I felt greater than life itself. My beloved and I took a cruise up the Inside Passage from Vancouver to Alaska. The trip was magnificent and the people we met were marvellous.

I was up early one morning on the ship, soaking in the sights and enjoying the moment on deck. Taking what I thought was a shortcut back to our stateroom, I accidentally ended up in the bowels of the ship and overheard a conversation between the Third Officer and his subordinate (uniforms on a ship give rank away!). I was thoroughly impressed by the genuine interest of the officer and the subsequent respect and acknowledgement that his employee felt. Once the officer was alone, I approached him. The Third Officer, Zacharia, and I had a wonderful conversation.

Showing genuine interest in others is a quality Zacharia is proud to possess. Having worked over three decades in four industries, he proclaims that it is one of his transferable skills that he puts immediately into action upon arriving in a new position. 

“Staff will respond positively and encouragingly to managers who are genuinely interested in them and their welfare”

“When you express genuine interest, there is no better way to get others to care about you,” says Zacharia. And when his team members care about him, they also care about the work objectives that must be competently and efficiently performed every day, under his guidance and management. This is not just a performance strategy that Zacharia implements–it is his prevailing intrinsic belief.

When Zacharia started with the cruiseline, he learned and remembered little bits of personal information about each staff member, and he has 131 staff! He constantly asks about family at home, sick children and the troublesome in-laws. He has even made the provision of allowing staff to use ship-to-shore communications on wedding anniversaries! Happy staff means happy customers and as a result, guest evaluations of Zacharia’s staff have soared. Happy customers, of course, mean good referrals and repeat business.

Zacharia admirably demonstrates so many lessons in healthy leadership. The first requirement that you must fulfil as a leader of people is to manage those people well. To do this, you must genuinely care about them. One of the most basic principles of psychology is reciprocity: people want to do unto others what has been done to them. So staff will respond positively and encouragingly to managers who are genuinely interested in them and their welfare.

Effective leaders also take their employees seriously and personally. You must touch base regularly—you cannot stay remote—you have to be interested in their work, and when you are communicating with a person, he or she must be the centre of your attention. Your eyes cannot be darting elsewhere. You must listen and truly care about the things that concern that staff member on an individual basis.

And strong leaders, like Zacharia, help their employees attain realization of the one longing that is almost as ubiquitous as the desire for food or sleep: the desire to be important. Although attainment of this desire is elusive to many of us, leaders can play a key role. Leaders, who genuinely show interest and involve people in work processes, show that they care and that they want the best for their people so they continue to contribute, learn and grow. That demonstration of interest means, “you are important to me and this workplace.”

And further, it must be a demonstration of continued interest. Successful people have learned that a single act or gesture seldom confers that feeling of importance and meaningfulness. It comprises many acts like returning calls, remembering names, asking about family members, treating people respectfully, and requesting an opinion. Successful leaders stand out from the crowd by doing these things and never stopping.

And this is why Zacharia stood out for me, and why this vacation was especially memorable in such a positive way.