Growing up on a farm, I saw my father fix a lot of equipment. It seemed like he was under a combine, tractor, cultivator, truck, bailer, or drill at least once a day.

Today, I recognize that he prioritized maintenance.

Earlier this week I posted about fixing your data. Job data and employee data. Maintaining files, systems, and data are an aspect of many white-collar jobs.

But what we sometimes forget is that we need to maintain our people. That means checking in consistently and asking questions.

Ask Jesus what is keeping him up at night? Why? Because he yawned a lot during the staff meeting today and hasn’t interacted like he normally does. He isn’t as energetic or alert. And you know that he is leading a project team that has some major deliverables and deadlines in the next month.

Ask Mia how her baby is doing and how she is doing? Why? Because she came back to work from parental leave last week, and you know that the transition after a leave can be a challenge.

In the quiet before they answer you is an internal dialogue that may go something like this:

-       Can I really tell them the truth? I don’t want them to see me as less efficient or put me on the layoff list.

-       I wish I could be authentic when answering that. What do I say that won’t make them doubt by commitment?

-       Well answering THAT question honestly isn’t going to happen. How can I change the subject?

If you haven’t prioritized maintenance and shown up with empathy and compassion, you’ll hear something like:

Jesus: “Everything is going great. I’m looking forward to getting the big project deliverables completed soon and to the next phase of the project. My team is performing well and there is nothing new to report.”

Mia: “The transition back to work is going well. I have enjoyed catching up with colleagues and learning what happened while I was out. I started working on X and will share more details with you after I complete my research. What fun things did you do over the weekend? Isn’t the warmer weather nice.”

If they can't tell you honestly what's going on and how they're feeling, you've done something wrong.

Prioritize maintenance.

Talk less. Listen more. Make it safe for your team members to tell you what is really going on.

Otherwise, you’ll be prioritizing the attraction of new talent or the buying of new equipment.

Oh, and don’t forget to pay your people what they are worth. It’s another form of maintenance that is easy to push aside.

Inspired by DWR

#leadership #rewards #recognition #psychologicalsafety #humanresources #pay #compensation #empathy