How To Be A More Understanding Leader Or Boss

How To Be an Understanding Manager

Over the past few years, the workplace has changed dramatically. Companies, corporate leaders, and employees worldwide have been impacted by the ever-changing and uncertain work landscape. Hiring and employee retention have taken a hit, and thoughtful leadership has become more important than ever. 

Some companies are laying off employees on a massive scale. Others are hurting for workers. And in the midst of it all, millions of job seekers are looking for secure jobs with empathic leadership and a working environment where they can grow and thrive. 

You can help your company stand out from the crowd by learning how to be a more understanding boss. Want to know more? Keep going! 

Why is it Important to be an Understanding Boss?

It’s important to be an understanding boss because your attitude, approachability, and level of empathy directly impact your employees’ experience in the workplace. A supportive boss can help improve employee retention and boost workplace happiness. By being supportive as a leader in your company, you: 

• Create more opportunities for your team
• Provide useful feedback your employees can respond to and act on 
• Lend a listening ear that helps them feel truly heard and understood 
• Help your employees feel more settled and secure in their positions 

 

How to Be More a Understanding in Your Leadership Role

Wondering how to be a leader at work--while becoming more understanding in the process? We’ve gathered some tips you can put into action right away. 

Recognize Your Employees’ Different Perspectives 

Every employee on your team is an individual with their own background, race, gender identity, interests, personality, beliefs, and outlook on life. Make room for all of their different perspectives and life experiences. We all have a lot to learn from each other, so leave the door open to these important life lessons! 

Connect with Your Employees 

Helping your employees feel connected to you is an important aspect of being a more understanding leader. You can accomplish this by:

• Being friendly and approachable
• Encouraging your team to bring their concerns to you
• Being a driving force behind their professional development  
• Offering constructive, diplomatic feedback to your team
• Being receptive to employee feedback 
• Making a real effort to get to know your employees 
• Holding 1:1 meetings with each team member to get to know them better

In addition, you can facilitate team activities, exercises, and programs to help everyone get to know each other better. If your team is segmented into groups that don’t often work together, this is a great way to help everyone get more familiar with each other. Plus, it shows you care about helping everyone feel like a functioning unit.

 

Really Listen to Your Team Members 

If you really want to know how to be a leader at work, then you need to be a fantastic listener. This works on many different levels, from one-on-one conversations to conflict resolution. If your employees know they can come to you and you’ll actually listen to them, that’s a game changer. 

Be truly open to hearing from your employees, no matter the reason. Listen to their concerns and new ideas with an open mind. Don’t interrupt them when they’re speaking, be receptive, and help them constructively look for solutions to whatever issues they’re facing. Observe their responses and body language, and approach each discussion with the desire to really understand what’s going on. Finally, make sure your answers are both thoughtful and careful before you respond.

Be Open with Your Team Members 

Being open and transparent with your team members helps to build more authentic relationships in the workplace. When employees see their leaders willing to be vulnerable, they’re more likely to open up, too. All in all, openness encourages more trust among your team.

The ability to see the world through another person’s eyes is critically important--especially when you’re in leadership. Create a safe environment where they can connect with one another and with you, and they’ll be much more likely to thrive.

 

Be Compassionate Toward Your Team Members 

Showing compassion toward your team members is essential to being an understanding boss and demonstrating thoughtful leadership. Empathy and emotional intelligence are just as important in the workplace as having years of experience or a strong strategic mind. Being able to lead your employees from a place of compassion and understanding makes all the difference when you’re facing a difficult situation.

According to The Happiness Index, empathy is not only an essential leadership skill to have in the workplace; it also makes stronger leaders. Even better, empathy makes your company a happier place to be, which contributes to higher worker retention. It’s not a heavy lift for most leaders to celebrate employee accomplishments and achievements. But when the road gets rough, you’ll need compassion to recognize your employees’ struggles, offer them the support they need, and help your team navigate hard seasons. 

Give Thoughtful Company Gifts

Finally, another great tip for how to be a more understanding boss is to give thoughtful company gifts to your team. Giving custom gifts to your employees shows them you care--and that you notice the hard work they put in for your company, day in and day out. You don’t have to wait for a specific special occasion to send gifts to your team, either. It’s something you can do any time, for any reason, just to say thanks. 

Our MerchBoxes are a fantastic way to get started with company gifts that you can easily send your team members no matter where they’re located! We have a variety of themed MerchBoxes for you to choose from. Alternatively, you can build your own custom box! We’ll help you pack and ship them right where they need to go--and your team will remember the gesture for years to come.

 

Contact Us

Making empathetic leadership part of your workplace is a wonderful step toward how to be a more understanding boss. If you’re ready to incorporate logo-branded employee appreciation gifts into your thoughtful leadership approach, we’re ready to help you out! Contact us at Merchology for more thoughtful corporate gifting ideas.