I have a vision that everyone everywhere will feel valued. So how do you value others?

I was watching Simon Sinek yesterday, he is very clear on his mission and talks about it openly in most of his youtube videos which I admire.

As I sat there and listened intently, I asked myself a question that most of us struggle with. Am I clear on what my purpose and mission is?

From the outside looking in at my life, you would think that my mission has been to climb the corporate ladder and make it to the top (which multiple people have told me).  I am not surprised, as I have done very well and achieved a lot in my retail career. Compared to most, I grew from a Part-Time salesperson to a Vice President of 250 stores. When I contemplate my younger self (in my early twenties), If you had asked me back then what I wanted to do with my life, I would have never told you what ended up playing out over twenty-five years later.

I knew that I always loved helping people and also enjoyed assisting those that were underestimated by others for some reason.

Working in retail, you are almost always underestimated. People assume if you work in retail that you didn’t go to school. I felt judged many times and underestimated by friends and family for my choice to work in a retail store.

What people don’t know about retail is you learn how to manage teams of people, develop business strategies and drive results of sometimes upwards of millions of dollars.

My mission is and always has been to help people feel valued.

I write about this in my first leadership book “The Positive effect, a retail leaders guide to changing the world.”

The Positive Effect, has rave reviews on Amazon, do you have your copy?

What does helping people feel valued mean? It means to help people feel important and that their voice matters. I believe that each person is unique and important. And when we nurture our employees, each person can find their uniqueness and gift to the world. This is the power of working for a good boss.

When I lead a team, making people feel valued is something that is non-negotiable for me.

Treating people fairly and like “you want to be treated” is one thing, but listening to understand and learning how “they want to be treated” is far more motivating to most people but much harder for most leaders to achieve.

I want every person on my team to feel valued. I talk about this all the time with my leadership team. This may sound like a goal that is far bigger than me, and it is, and I am aware I can not control or influence how people chose to be treated by the closest people to them. However, being someone’s boss most likely has the next most significant direct impact on their life. Knowing this I find it even more critical; we help our employees feel valued.

I believe that if you are someone’s boss you have a huge responsibility.

Do you realize the impact not only on their work-life but their home life? When people are happy at work, we know that it translates into happiness in their life. And when people are more satisfied in their life, they will achieve more, help more and encourage others.

There is nothing worse in life than working for a boss that does not value you. I have been there, and it takes over your life, your family and your friends. This is why my life’s mission is and always will be to teach bosses how to be better bosses through leadership, communication and connection skills.
If you are reading this and wonder how to make people feel valued and why you should? Then let me explain.

To start making your employees feel valued, start with listening more than you speak. There is a great quote by John C. Maxwell that says “Be interested and amazed, not interesting and amazing.” What this does is put you in the mindset of valuing others. When someone on your team shares something amazing, your job is to encourage them. Do not steal the moment by sharing something that diminishes their ideas even if you think yours is better.

Think about what the word value means; it means worth, usefulness, good, significant, importance. And when you apply these synonyms to people that work for you to help them feel valued it starts by recognizing their worth and contribution. Make sure you tell them what they do has significance and appreciate them for it.

This may sound easy however I can tell you that it’s not. Most bosses miss this entirely because they are not able to put their agenda to the side and be present to listen to their employees. Most managers think that they should know everything do everything and have an answer for everything. This is so missing the mark.

Are you someone’s boss? If you are, I challenge you to focus your efforts on helping people on your team feel valued this week. By doing this I can almost 100% guarantee that the productivity, teamwork and commitment of your team will improve. More than that you will have made a difference to someone’s life beyond the work clock.

Does this resonate with you? Do you want to learn how to develop crucial leadership attributes? Join retailu and supercharge your leadership skills.

retailu online learning teaches managers to become leaders

My mission is to help leaders develop their leadership skills. This is why I built retailu, I put everything I know into the retailu courses to teach you how to lead.

Don’t you want to be the best for your team? Check out retailu.ca.

Thanks for reading, and don’t forget to talk less, listen more. Trust me try it and see how your team responds.

Founder and President of retailu.ca, certified business coach WABC.

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