For 3 months, our intern Fadhilah Wahid picked the brains of CEOs, HR managers, thought leaders, and Human Excellence consultants to get inspiration, learn more about Leadership, and find out how they have been working with Schuitema to build better people and organizations. These profound insights and knowledge by game-changers in various industries from banking to mining will be published weekly for the next few weeks. Be sure to subscribe to our newsletter to not miss out!

Bernardine Searle has been the Business Development Manager at Alexander Forbes for the past two years, prior to which she has taken on various other leadership roles such as Team Leader.

In her years of experience managing different teams, Searle has come to the conclusion that many other wise leaders have arrived to: that the toughest part about management is not so much about ensuring the ‘bottom-line’ of the company, but in having to deal with people.

“I think the hardest part about management is having to deal with the different types of personalities, having to understand different kinds of people, and all of that,” Searle reflected.

The Danger of Leading a Faceless Team

“I used to manage all of my staff members as if they were all the same,” shared Searle, “and I was definitely not getting the great outcomes that I am getting right now, since I have implemented Care and Growth and learned to treat my staff members individually.”

According to the manager, the flaw with leading staff members as an anonymous whole is that it is very unlikely that every single one of the staff faces the same issues and problems. For instance, some may have been carrying a victim mentality, while others may harbour negative attitudes. While both are impediments to becoming a positively contributing team member, they each require solutions that are unique to the individual.

After all, does a doctor prescribe the same one-size-fits-all medicine to all his patients, despite the ailments that befall unto them? And taking the metaphor another step forward, does a doctor prescribe a certain medication to all of his patients, without even giving them a dedicated 1-1 check-up and diagnosis?

The truth is that management — just as Searle has pointed out — is a job whose main (and hardest) role is to deal with people. And just like doctors, leaders need to spend time with their individual staff members in order to get to know them. From the information he has received from those sessions and the relationship that has evolved from them, the leader — just like the doctor — can thus help his team members deal with the issues they face, pushing them to be the best person they can be both in and out of the workplace.

The results will then speak for themselves after.

Leading Individuals

For Searle, leading her team members individually meant having to spend more time with each of her staff.

“When I walk into the office the morning, I will greet them, and have a little bit of a catch-up session for 10 to 15 minutes with each of my better-performing team members. With the ones that aren’t doing what they need to do, however, I dedicate more time with them and focus on them. And obviously when you do that, you get the results from them!” said Searle.

The morning routine Searle describes is one that she carries out daily without fail, come rain or shine. According to her, while the practice definitely requires more time on her end as she would have to speak to her staff of sixteen each morning, it is one that has been nothing but beneficial: “My figures every month have increased since I changed the way I manage my team. I’m getting good results!”

Searle’s proof comes in the form of one of her staff members who was recently transferred over from another branch. When he just joined her team, he was a lower than average salesperson, “writing about 150 a month”. Since joining Searle’s team and having his 1-1 morning sessions with her, the staff member has more than doubled his contribution to the team, giving much greater effort in his work, and going on to become a “300 consultant.”

“And the thing is, I know — from the 1-1 times I’ve spent with him — that he is improving himself and doing more not just for himself, but for the team. I can see in his actions and hear in his words how he is proud of what he is bringing to the table for the entire team,” beamed Searle.

In Conclusion

It is apparent to Searle that the case for individual mentoring for staff is a definite keeper in the growth of Alexander Forbes. According to the manager, 1-1 sessions with each of her team members has helped formed a relationship between them, one that was non-existent prior.

“Because we have a relationship as a manager and staff-member, there’s an understanding of what needs to be done, and an understanding of what their part is to the whole situation. My staff know that if they don’t bring in their part, I can’t do my part, and vice-versa. So it’s definitely a team environment, where they are doing it for everyone,” shared Searle.

Just as Searle has experienced, our experience in Schuitema working with leaders across a variety of sectors all show that the more leaders spend time with each individual in their team and understanding them personally, the more these individuals will be willing to contribute to the health of the team as a whole.

So whether it is a 1-1 daily morning catch-up or a weekly check-in, be sure to include each of your staff in your plans for next year; it may just be the beginnings of your best year yet!