How to Be a Curious Leader: Lead by Wandering Around
How do great leaders engage, inspire, and motivate their hospital staff members? How do they make the patients feel?
Every healthcare organization struggles with creating a culture driven by authentic two-way communication versus rumor because rumor can ruin morale and teamwork.
So, what’s the antidote? Well, it’s as simple as this: be a curious leader and lead by wandering around.
A great leader is a curious leader - they may look like they are wandering around, but they're communicating and engaging.
By taking the time to communicate and engage with others, ask questions, and spend time with people, you can help them. When you do this, you show the message that we’re in it together.
There’s no one more important than anybody else. Everyone is a caregiver, and we’re in this together.
According to Bev Kaye, who wrote a series of books on employee retention in her book “Love ‘Em or
Lose ‘Em,” 50% of workforce satisfaction comes from the employees relating to their boss”.
To prevent your hospital staff members’ moods from turning blue, give them a chance to let you know what they do. Be a curious leader.
People want to be needed, noticed, and known. They want you to see them, which is why we recommend that you embrace the concept of L-B-W-A - lead by walking around - about 10% of your time.
Many bosses say that their office door is always open, but let’s face it - most employees would never go into a boss’s office because they are intimidated.
So what do leaders talk about when they wander around?
Walt Whitman has some great advice, which is to “be curious.” Be curious about what’s going on in your staff members’ lives. Ask them how their kids are doing, how their weekend was, or anything else about their life.
Be curious and not judgmental because the minute your people think you’re wandering around to check up on them, they’re going to head for the hills. They’re not going to level with you. This is where communication comes in.
There are three different types of communication in life. Which one are you?
Remember to lead by example. Be a curious leader and a brilliant conversationalist. Ask people about their lives. Ask them how they are doing - because when you lead by walking around, you learn by walking around.
To empower you in your focus to appreciate, nurture, and support your caregiver heroes, download a copy of Custom Learning’s Operation Uplift Team Organization Charter.
The charter includes an assessment tool and dozens of best practices to improve morale, attitude, and self-care. It also addresses COVID fatigue and retention and includes a reference library of our
Caregiver Heroes videos, TED talks, recommended reading, and more.
Our next tutorial in this is “Lead By Wandering Around.”
Now let’s go spread kindness care everywhere. For more information on this topic, please visit our
YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/user/Customlearningsue.
Every healthcare organization struggles with creating a culture driven by authentic two-way communication versus rumor because rumor can ruin morale and teamwork.
So, what’s the antidote? Well, it’s as simple as this: be a curious leader and lead by wandering around.
A Great Leader is a Curious Leader
A great leader is a curious leader - they may look like they are wandering around, but they're communicating and engaging.
By taking the time to communicate and engage with others, ask questions, and spend time with people, you can help them. When you do this, you show the message that we’re in it together.
There’s no one more important than anybody else. Everyone is a caregiver, and we’re in this together.
According to Bev Kaye, who wrote a series of books on employee retention in her book “Love ‘Em or
Lose ‘Em,” 50% of workforce satisfaction comes from the employees relating to their boss”.
To prevent your hospital staff members’ moods from turning blue, give them a chance to let you know what they do. Be a curious leader.
Lead By Walking Around
People want to be needed, noticed, and known. They want you to see them, which is why we recommend that you embrace the concept of L-B-W-A - lead by walking around - about 10% of your time.
Many bosses say that their office door is always open, but let’s face it - most employees would never go into a boss’s office because they are intimidated.
So what do leaders talk about when they wander around?
Walt Whitman has some great advice, which is to “be curious.” Be curious about what’s going on in your staff members’ lives. Ask them how their kids are doing, how their weekend was, or anything else about their life.
The 3 Different Types of Communicators
Be curious and not judgmental because the minute your people think you’re wandering around to check up on them, they’re going to head for the hills. They’re not going to level with you. This is where communication comes in.
There are three different types of communication in life. Which one are you?
- The egotist: Egotists like to talk about themselves. They go on and on and on.
- The bore: These people talk about things that have no interest to anyone.
- The brilliant conversationalist: Someone who talks to you about you.
Remember to lead by example. Be a curious leader and a brilliant conversationalist. Ask people about their lives. Ask them how they are doing - because when you lead by walking around, you learn by walking around.
Some Key Ideas to Take Away
- 50% of workforce satisfaction comes from how employees relate with their leader, their boss, that’s you.
- To prevent your people’s mood from turning blue, give them a chance to let you know what they do.
- Lead by walking around.
- Be curious, not judgmental.
- Be aware of the three types of communicators. And above all, be a brilliant conversationalist.
Download the Operation Uplift Team Organization Charter Today
To empower you in your focus to appreciate, nurture, and support your caregiver heroes, download a copy of Custom Learning’s Operation Uplift Team Organization Charter.
The charter includes an assessment tool and dozens of best practices to improve morale, attitude, and self-care. It also addresses COVID fatigue and retention and includes a reference library of our
Caregiver Heroes videos, TED talks, recommended reading, and more.
Our next tutorial in this is “Lead By Wandering Around.”
Now let’s go spread kindness care everywhere. For more information on this topic, please visit our
YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/user/Customlearningsue.
