Seven Critical People Rules to Live By

1. Listen without judging.
Encourage open and honest feedback between yourself and all of your people. Determine what they want to get out of the job: What are their goals? What do they need? What obstacles are they facing? Approach each topic or concern by really listening with your heart and without judgment. You must encourage your people to share their needs, dreams, and obstacles with you. You need open, honest discussion and feedback to help them achieve excellence.

2. Empathize and show compassion.
Spend time with each of your people and find out what is happening in their lives—not only at work, but in their personal lives as well. Empathy is the ability to actually feel the pain or joy of another person. Empathy helps you understand someone else's position, and is the first step to showing compassion. I see compassion as " the commitment to connect with passion." Whenever your employees make the effort to share feelings, concerns, suggestions, or constructive criticism, you need to show that you care. By taking a true interest in your staff, you will relay to them that your company not only cares about its bottom line, but it also cares about each individual working there.

3. Be authentic.
Reflect often on your goals for people, making sure they come from your heartfelt desire to improve your employees' skills and their lives. Understand that people need to feel challenged and believe that their work adds value. By treating your employees as people (and not simply as a means to increase revenue), you will gain their respect. They will genuinely work harder because they believe in the work that they are doing and in you as a leader. This can absolutely be compatible with your desire to improve results.

We have to get our heads and our hearts reconnected. We have to get our hearts connected with other people's hearts. It means leading with the wisdom in your heart.
-Amanda Gore, motivational speaker and connection expert

Stay tuned for next time, when I will share with you the second half People Rules.