CARE-DRIVEN LEADERSHIP: THE POWER OF MAKING PEOPLE FEEL SEEN

Care is felt long before it’s spoken. It shows up in small moments, thoughtful gestures, and the way people are made to feel. This is what care-driven leadership looks like.

Stay around me long enough and you’ll hear stories about my grandmother. She and my grandfather lived on the outskirts of New Orleans, and when you entered their home, the scents of south Louisiana filled the air.

There could be a gumbo on the stove, a jambalaya, or a cake was being baked. As you scan the walls, you’d see pictures of all the grandchildren. When you entered their house you instantly felt one thing, care. You knew her and my grandfather cared. From cooking your favorite meals, the pictures, and they were known to slip cash to a grandkid.

Think back on your life and who cared for you. Who made you feel like the world revolved around you?

Just thinking about them probably improves your mood. Why? Because care does that.

Care-Driven Leadership Starts With How People Feel

At Ellis Adams Group, care is our final core value. It’s one thing to say we care, but it’s quite another to experience it. When you’re at the front desk of a hotel checking in after a long flight, you know if the person serving you cares or if they’re just entering information into a computer.

Care isn’t doing the job. Care is how you make the other person feel while you’re doing it. It’s a smile. Remembering the names of the guests who come through the doors. It’s listening while you explain your vision for a new design. Watching your team be trained and become better at guest engagement is care.

Care Is More Than Doing the Job

At EAG, care-driven leadership starts internally. We listen when a team member brings a concern. The worst thing we could do is ignore them or quip, “That’s not important.”

By listening, we are investing in each other’s future. We offer guidance and coaching that can help steer them to a path of success. EAG does not permit a team member to drift aimlessly. We’re there with them because we care.

We care about our clients. That reads easy on paper or a screen, but you’ll feel the care when your team is better because of our involvement or your guests give your compliments because of a new menu or design in the restaurant area. These aren’t just words that hang on a wall, but it’s the way we live and interact.

Choosing Care in a Careless World

People usually won’t care unless they’re passionate. Excellence is never the result of a half-hearted effort. People must care to have incredible results. Employees won’t buy into your vision until they believe you care about them. Care. It’s easy to do but we don’t take the time to do it. Learn the names of your team. Learn the names of their spouses or significant others. Ask about them when you meet. Teach the team to learn the names of clients or guests. Call people by their names. Know their preferences. Do what you say you’re going to do and do it with excellence. That shows you care.

You may not have a pot of gumbo waiting on the stove like my grandmother, but you can still show people you care. In a world where people stare at a screen, see the person standing in front of you. Instead of a text, have a conversation. Send a thank you card. We live in a world that is often careless. Change that. Be caring.

Creating Unparalleled Experiences,

CHRIS ADAMS

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