When it comes to being an effective leader, your job doesn’t end with delegating tasks for your team to complete. Having a team of representatives under you is a big job, and in order to maintain a positive work environment, you want to do what you can to keep your team happy and comfortable in their workspace; always keep in mind, that your staff is a huge asset to the company. With that said, one of the most important ways you can maintain quality leadership standards is by making an effort to know your employees; more than what you know from just their work performance.  Getting to know everyone on your team isn’t always the easiest task, but once your employees see the effort, it’s likely they’ll become more open, motivated, and overall more productive. Here are a few essential tips for getting to know your employees:

Promote Team Activities

Team building activities in the workplace are great and can be very useful in keeping employees engaged.  However, you may still want to know about them outside the typical work environment. From weekly lunches, to after work happy hours, or other social events, you’ll start to build a stronger relationship with your team, while still maintaining the mandatory professionalism.  Events outside of the office often promote a more comfortable setting for employees to engage with one another, while getting to know you, and the rest of the team a little better. Additionally, it’s a good opportunity to blow off some work steam and refresh your mind.

Keep an Open Door Policy

An open door policy is essential for the relationship between you and the individuals on your team. Your employees should be comfortable with coming to you when they need to address concerns, ask questions, or simply need assistance. Employees often feel apprehensive about coming to managers to discuss issues or address concerns for multiple reasons. You want to do what you can to ease the apprehension, and create a safe space for them.  Additionally, it will give you an opportunity to know how they’re feeling about work, and get a solid idea of how they’re performing.

Listen to Employee Feedback

A good leader welcomes feedback from their employees, and truly listens to their insights, advice, and generally what they have to say. Having conversations, whether work-related or not, are a great way to create a healthy balance for both you and the people on your team.  Consider their feedback, ask questions about how they’re feeling. It’s also okay to have some insight into their personal lives. Keep in mind, things happen, and you’re likely going to be faced with knowing personal information about your team – let them know they can trust you.