{"id":120583,"date":"2024-01-06T12:54:00","date_gmt":"2024-01-06T16:54:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=120583"},"modified":"2025-10-03T11:11:28","modified_gmt":"2025-10-03T15:11:28","slug":"leaders-connect-with-employees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/leaders-connect-with-employees\/","title":{"rendered":"True Leaders Connect With Employees (Stephen M. R. Covey)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>What&#8217;s one step beyond empathy? Do your employees trust that you care about them? How well are your team members connected to each other?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In <em>Trust and Inspire<\/em>, Stephen M. R. Covey asserts that trusting and inspiring leaders connect with employees by practicing empathy and kindness. They also work to connect employees with each other and a greater purpose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Keep reading to learn how to foster these crucial connections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<p><em>Editor\u2019s note: This article is part of\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/hub\/professional\/work\/team-building-guide\/\">Shortform\u2019s guide to team-building<\/a>. If you like what you read here, there\u2019s plenty more to check out in the guide!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-connect-with-employees\">Connect With Employees<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Trusting and inspiring leaders connect with employees. <strong>To do this, Covey argues that you must practice empathy and kindness<\/strong>. Empathy is understanding people\u2019s feelings and experiences from <em>their<\/em> perspective and doing so without judgment. Kindness is a step past empathy\u2014you use your understanding of others to assist them based on their needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Shortform note: While Covey argues that kindness is a progression of empathy, Paul Bloom suggests otherwise in <a href=\"https:\/\/shortform.com\/app\/book\/against-empathy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>Against Empathy<\/em><\/a>. Bloom argues that rather than leading to kindness, empathy often leads to <em>immoral <\/em>actions\u2014for example, recommending your recently fired friend for a position at your company even though they\u2019re not qualified, ultimately setting them, and the company, up for failure. Further, Bloom argues that <a href=\"https:\/\/shortform.com\/app\/book\/against-empathy#whats-wrong-with-empathy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">there are more effective ways to guide kindness, such as \u201cconsequentialism<\/a>\u201d\u2014considering the likely outcomes of your actions so you can make the best decision.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Covey cites two reasons for empathizing with and showing kindness to others. First, showing care for someone makes them more receptive to you and therefore more likely to be inspired by you. Second, connecting helps you identify an individual\u2019s personal sources of inspiration. You can then link this to the organization\u2019s larger purpose, motivating the individual to produce superior work to achieve it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Shortform note: Empathy is a proven way to inspire and influence people; however, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/pulse\/using-empathy-manipulation-dr-nicole-price\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">it can also be a form of manipulation<\/a>. Experts explain that some people feign empathy or use their understanding of other people\u2019s emotions to gain compliance. In other words, they use Covey\u2019s tactics for personal gain rather than to benefit their followers and organization. To use Covey\u2019s empathy tactics in a positive way, ensure that your intended results don\u2019t come at the cost of others&#8217; well-being.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-connect-employees-with-each-other-and-a-purpose\">Connect Employees With Each Other and a Purpose<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Another level of connection Covey says you must foster to be an inspirational leader is connection with something larger than yourself. This requires you to <strong>nurture connections among individuals in the group and among individuals and the group\u2019s larger purpose<\/strong>. Doing this inspires people by infusing them with <em>belonging <\/em>and <em>purpose<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Shortform note: Psychologists explain that belonging and purpose motivate people <a href=\"https:\/\/shortform.com\/app\/book\/first-things-first\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">due to our survival instincts<\/a>. In early human history, being part of a group was necessary for survival\u2014it minimized the risk of starvation and attacks from animals. As a result, we\u2019re motivated to become members of a larger group because doing so satisfies our evolutionary instinct. Further, one of the reasons we may crave purpose is that <a href=\"https:\/\/lightliz.com\/why-do-humans-seek-purpose\/#:~:text=One%20of%20the%20main%20reasons,make%20them%20reassess%20their%20purpose.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">it makes us feel needed<\/a>. This is linked to our desire for belonging because if we\u2019re needed, we\u2019re less likely to be abandoned by the group.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On a smaller scale, <strong>building connections between group members fosters camaraderie and establishes a shared identity and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/create-a-sense-of-belonging\/\">sense of belonging<\/a>.<\/strong> This inspires collaboration and excellent performance among individuals because they want to uphold their roles in the group and make their team members proud.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Shortform note: In <a href=\"https:\/\/shortform.com\/app\/book\/the-five-dysfunctions-of-a-team\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>The Five Dysfunctions of a Team<\/em><\/a>, Patrick Lencioni also discusses the importance of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-is-trust-earned\/\">building trust<\/a> and connections between employees and <a href=\"https:\/\/shortform.com\/app\/book\/the-five-dysfunctions-of-a-team\/solving-dysfunction-one\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">provides a few specific ways to do so<\/a>. For example, Lencioni suggests having team members share their personal histories\u2014this vulnerability will help people find common ground and trust each other. Taking and sharing behavioral and personality profiles can also build connections by helping group members understand each other better.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>More broadly, <strong>providing an overarching vision for the group makes members feel instrumental in achieving something meaningful.<\/strong> Covey explains that this sense of being part of a larger purpose inspires people, as it fulfills our innate <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/human-need-for-belonging\/\">need for belonging<\/a> and meaning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Shortform note: In <a href=\"https:\/\/shortform.com\/app\/book\/first-things-first\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>First Things First<\/em><\/a>, Covey Sr. similarly emphasizes the importance of creating a shared vision to inspire people. To do so, he says you must create an <a href=\"https:\/\/shortform.com\/app\/book\/first-things-first\/part-3-2#creating-a-shared-vision\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">empowering mission statement<\/a> that: focuses on a purpose people are passionate about; comes from the employee rather than the administrative level; is based on universal principles like fairness and human dignity; addresses everyone&#8217;s needs; and addresses the four human needs to live, love, learn, and leave a legacy.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What&#8217;s one step beyond empathy? Do your employees trust that you care about them? How well are your team members connected to each other? In Trust and Inspire, Stephen M. R. Covey asserts that trusting and inspiring leaders connect with employees by practicing empathy and kindness. They also work to connect employees with each other and a greater purpose. Keep reading to learn how to foster these crucial connections.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":120596,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,9,30],"tags":[1359],"class_list":["post-120583","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-management","category-psychology","category-work","tag-trust-and-inspire","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.3 (Yoast SEO v24.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>True Leaders Connect With Employees (Stephen M. R. Covey) - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Trusting and inspiring leaders connect with employees and work to connect employees with each other and a greater purpose. 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