I was fortunate to take a small vacation at the start of Christmas break. It certainly was much needed. When I go on vacation and it’s at a beach I always love to find something good to read. Depending on the amount of time I’m away and how much time I find to relax while on vacation I can get really deep into some good reading. This was a beach vacation so there was lot’s of time to read during pool and beach time. The two books that I had the privilege of reading was “The Truth About Employee Engagement” by Patrick Lencioni and “It’s Your Ship: Management Techniques From the Best Damn Ship in the Navy” by Michael Abrashoff.

I’m not here to review these books, but as I read both of them a few things quickly jumped out at me. The first thing is that people want to be acknowledged! Everyone wants to feel part of the organization and feel that they matter. As managers and leaders we often forget that. The next thing I realized is that people live for good communication. People want to know what is going on, and they want to know often. Another thing I know, and my good friend Troy Mooney always says this, is that people want to be involved in things that impact them. This can be challenging for leaders/managers because we often get so busy doing the work and we leave those out that actually do the work. Finally, people want action and follow-up from those that they serve. There are several other things that came to mind, but I wont write it all here.

So what finally hit me? It’s simple! People just want to be CAREd for. While sitting by the pool on a beautiful island it hit me that people want the following:

C-Communication-Communicate early and often

A-Acknowledge and Action-People want to be acknowledged by the leader, and if there’s a problem that impacts them they want you to acknowledge it. They also want action on the part of the leader. Don’t just talk about it, be about it.

R-Relationships-Above all else, relationships. It’s almost like I should start with this one. And there are not enough words here for me to talk about the power of relationships. In this area I would also like to state how important it is for people to cultivate relationships that do simple things like identify potential leaders, innovators, and those that can help you carry out the vision.

E-Educate and Empower-Good leaders/managers consistently educate those they lead. They educate them on the vision, they educate them on the why, they educate them on basic protocols. Finally, we have to empowerment. Good leaders/managers empower those they lead to do the work that needs to be done. People need empowerment to innovate, lead those they serve, and have the ability to make an impact without the leader/manager getting in the way.

So let’s CARE for those we serve. We have to be intentional about ensuring our schools and campuses are the best they can be, and that starts with people who are CAREd for.