People Over Profit

Three Not-to-Be-Overlooked Critical Leadership Actions

People and profit. Which comes first? It’s true that profit is crucial for a company's sustainability and longevity; however, there is a strong argument (and a lot of research) to support the mindset of “people over profit". Like Richard Branson and others have suggested, if you care for your people, they will take care of your business. 

It’s a fresh calendar year. The rest of the year is in front us. As leaders, making the time to reflect on how we are going to care for ourselves and our teams will position us well for a meaningful, impactful, and successful year.

Forbes highlighted three actions, all closely tied to emotional intelligence, that the authors state are important for leaders to focus on this year: 

TRUST YOUR EMPLOYEES: Forbes highlights the use of the internal talent pool when hiring as a strategy to build trust with employees. This trust comes from acknowledging the loyalty, contributions, and individual value of your current employees. Internal hires, which statistically have a 75% success rate in adapting to new roles, demonstrate the value of fostering trust within your team and organization.

RELY ON COMPANY VALUES: Let the core values of the company serve as the guiding lights for strategy, planning, and decision-making. Aligning actions with these values not only sets leaders up as good role models, but it helps reinforce the intended culture.

MODEL SELF-AWARENESS AND FLEXIBILITY: Leadership looks different today than even one year ago, and it will continue to evolve. Acknowledging this, gaining self-awareness through reflecting on our leadership practices is paramount. Understanding how our leadership style influences others and constantly seeking ways to enhance effectiveness will lead us towards greater success for ourselves, our teams, and the organization. 

Prioritizing people over profit doesn't negate or minimize the importance of financial success. But profit can’t occur without people. Let's build work environments in which we all care for our teams and each other.

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Posted on LinkedIn January, 2024

For the full Forbes article, click here.