When doing a project for a client, I always believe that one should try to understand the client's reality as much as possible, go to their frontline to observe and understand, even if these things are already known, one should calm down and humbly learn. Every industry, every person, and every event has something worth learning.
I went with their installation staff to a factory in Panyu, Guangzhou for installation. This factory is a metal manufacturing plant, and after the products are completed, they need to be coated with talcum powder on the surface, which generates a large amount of toxic dust. My client is responsible for installing the equipment that clears the dust.
Once we entered the workshop, our clothes quickly became covered with black dust. It was not just the dirt on our clothes that mattered; more importantly, this dust could be highly toxic. The installation personnel had to do it, and although I couldn't help much, I watched them operate from the side and sometimes gave a hand. I didn't hide in a clean and safe place. We worked like this for an entire day. By the time the work was done, all of us had black clothes, black hands, and black faces. We laughed at each other, went to the faucet to wash our hands, and then found a restaurant to have dinner.
During dinner, everyone was very courteous. I also handed out my cigarettes to them, and they kept pouring tea for me. We discussed heatedly about what aspects of the workflow could be improved. The more I guided, the more excited they got. I immediately took out a piece of paper and recorded the content. These were the most direct and practical improvements. Employees like them, bosses like them too, and things are easier to achieve.
Among the four of us, only the plant manager had met me twice before, while the other installation worker and driver were strangers. After spending a day together, we seemed to have become close friends. It's not hard to understand why soldiers returning from the battlefield can trust each other with their lives. I don't think it's because of their communication skills or how deep their feelings are for each other, or even how high their qualities are, or how advanced their communication tools are. These are not the most important factors.
The most important factor lies in the fact that they have shared hardships or even life-and-death situations together. They once stood on the same line, facing the threat of death. The harder and deeper the experience, the deeper their feelings will be.
And many leaders don't have good relationships with their employees. I think it's not because of the leader's communication skills or other factors. That's only a small part of it. More importantly, leaders are detached from the employees and the reality, making employees unable to feel that leaders are on the same line as them, and haven't worked alongside them. Therefore, no emotional bond can be established. A cold and emotionless relationship between leaders and employees makes it difficult to successfully accomplish tasks.
So, the easiest way to build an emotional connection with employees is: go deep into the reality with them, fight shoulder to shoulder with them. It surpasses any rally or communication techniques.
This article comes from www.dianliang.com