252 - Are you afraid of your employees?

Regardless of the size of your business, you may have employees who are intimidated by you.

Some people are anxious about being fired or making mistakes that could cause them embarrassment.

Business owners and C-level executives are on a different level mentally than most employees.

This post is not about job descriptions or the importance of a person's position.

I have seen upper-level executives who were unaware of the effect they had on their employees.

I once had a young colleague who was almost paralyzed with fear every time the president of the company was present. The poor guy could barely speak, yet he was one of the best employees.

One day, I ran into the president in the hallway and he stopped for a minute to see how I was doing. He was kind, not intimidating at all.

I gathered the courage to ask him if he was aware of the effect he had on the young colleague.

He had no clue. He was completely unaware. He actually thought the guy was slacking off and uninterested.

I noticed a few days later that the president and they were chatting together.

It turns out, the president had taken the time to call him into his office to get to know him better. It took the fear away for the young man.

A simple conversation broke the ice and helped them both understand each other better.

Who is in your office that may be intimidated by you?

#business#humanresources#help#management#motivation