As I sat observing the subtle dance of human interaction at a local pharmacy, I stumbled upon a profound realization about the power of observation. It was there, amidst the quiet struggle of a new employee grappling with a sluggish register and a less-than-supportive manager, that the essence of emotional awareness in leadership crystalized for me. This episode of Progress Coaching captures that moment and expands on how leaders can either uplift or unintentionally crush their team's spirit through their responses to everyday challenges.
Embark on a journey with us as we dissect the dynamics of non-verbal communication and its staggering impact on team morale. Through a candid recount of a personal initiative to boost a young worker's confidence, we illuminate the cascading effect simple acts of encouragement can have within a team. No guests join us this time, just a heart-to-heart on the indelible mark of supportive leadership and the transformative potential of positive reinforcement in the coaching sphere. Discover how we can harness the power of keen observation to foster an environment where every team member can thrive.
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Speaker 1:
One of the things that we've talked about for years at Progress Coaching is the ability to observe and coach, and I cannot tell you how many times I've shared this with people and I get this weird. Look like you observe people, you watch them. It's kind of creepy. Yet if you watch human behavior and you really watch human behavior it teaches you so much about people and their character and who they are. Let me give you an example. The day before doing this podcast episode and really the title of this is around you know, observation and emotional awareness Really becoming aware of other people's emotions through the power of observation If you want to become a great leader, sit and watch people. Go to a Starbucks, watch people behind the counter how they work together. Now, I happen to be a non-coffee drinker, but I'm a huge Starbucks fan. I think they're training. I think the way they do things with people, the people behind the counter work effectively together They've done something really well. I think they have very high standards for their people and, from what I understand is, they take care of their people. And I was at a retail store and it was waiting in line and an employee who was starting was working the register and definitely was having problems and it was at a pharmacy and I'm not going to mention the company name and I will say they are always slow, their systems are slow. I go to a competitive pharmacy. It's never that slow and it is frustrating and I get that. Well, the employee and you could see right on her badge it said in training and she got over the microphone very sheepishly and said you know, manager, to register number one or whatever she said, and the manager comes up and you could just tell by body language. This was a huge inconvenience to him and he goes okay, what's the problem now? Now, think of that statement. What's the problem now? Now, hearing that statement, how would you react? Would you want to call that manager for help again? Would you feel confident? Would you feel nervous, insecure, be honest. So then he makes a gesture and takes his left hand. He does not push her, I don't want to exaggerate, he doesn't shove her, but he kind of takes the outside of his left hand, puts it on her right shoulder, as if to say just move a little bit to your left, let me take care of this. And she steps out of the way and I look at her Now I'm looking at her over the shoulder of the woman in front of me. Now this sounds creepy, doesn't it? It sounds weird, like Tim, what are you doing? I said to the woman behind me. I said look at this young lady. She goes. Oh, she just looks more to her left hand. She's terrified and it was really hard to watch.
Speaker 1:
Now the manager got the register to work, walked away and said nothing, said nothing to her like hey, if you need any more help, you know, just reach out. So I sat there and I could tell as people started to go through her line I was about third in line she stopped talking. She stopped communicating to other people. Now I think I was a high school kid, about 17, maybe 16 and I got to her. I said hey, how you doing? She looked up she goes, oh, hi. And I said by the way, can I just say something to you? I've been here before. She said yeah. I said you're doing a fantastic job. These systems are slow. I get so frustrated coming through here, but this is where I get my you know my medicine and stuff, so I just wanted to share it with you. You know, from a dad, I think you're doing a fantastic job and the hugest smile came over her.
Speaker 1:
What that manager did, potentially without training, without awareness, is really debilitated her Really eroded her ability and energy to have a good rest of the day. I may have resurrected that, I don't know. So the woman behind me does the same thing and goes. I echo what the gentleman just said. I think you are fantastic. I think you do a great job. Lift your head up. I always try to come to your register. So I waited for that woman outside the store and I said that was really nice of you. And she goes. I wouldn't have done it if you had not done it.
Speaker 1:
See, here's the funny thing when you observe people, you learn our reactions much like the manager's reaction, cause another reaction. Yet we can counter negative reactions with conscious positivity. Look conscientiously for positive things. Now here's the other funny thing. We had a waitress last night at dinner, my wife and I going out for the infamous Wisconsin fish fry and we had a young lady and if anyone knows my irisense humor it's wicked, I can kind of needle you and she needled me back and she won and I called the manager over. I said I'd like to see the manager and the manager comes over and immediately goes. What's the problem? The waitress comes up behind her laughing because she knows I'm screwing around and I said this waitress has ruined my night. Her humor is awful, she doesn't smile enough and, for God's sake, she is slow. It was the best service we've ever had. The waitress looked at the manager and said we can fire customers too, can't we? And all of us just broke out laughing Table next to us, started laughing.
Speaker 1:
See, our actions create reactions, and one of the things we need to do as leaders is to observe, look for statements, look for reactions, look for the things that cause reactions, because it teaches you what we have an opportunity to improve as leaders. Now, what I did at the pharmacy or the drug store and what I did at that restaurant isn't unique. It's not something special. I shouldn't be praised. But what if more of us did it?
Speaker 1:
What if more managers were trained to say to people like that young lady at the pharmacy hey, just call me anytime this stuff happens, no problem, that's what I'm here for. Yet you could tell and her impression told you, calling him when the register was not working that this was a huge inconvenience. Now her relationship with that job instantly becomes what? Because somebody at home is going to say, honey, how was your day? And she's going to tell of that incident, hopefully, when she went home and her parents said, honey, how was your day? Oh, it had kind of a tough day, but there were two of the nicest people who praised me. That's the power of positivity, that's the power of observation.