Do you listen to your team members, I mean really listen?

To manage a happy and productive team, or to run a successful small business, you need to develop and maintain a positive, receptive relationship with your staff.

And you don’t have to be everyone’s bestie to be approachable. One of the biggest barriers to positive relationships can be the hierarchy in your team—it can make you instantly intimidating to your staff, potentially hampering your best efforts to friendly and open. So, what can you do to disrupt business hierarchy and improve your approachability?

Don’t take life too seriously

Approachable team leaders tend to know when to smile, take a break, share a joke and laugh along with their staff.

Humour is a great way to break down hierarchical divides in your team, and it allows you to position yourself as a human, not just a boss. A tip though, don’t use cutting humour at anyone’s expense, or try too hard. David Brent pops to mind…

Make time to chat

How much do you know about your team members? Do you know what’s going on in their personal lives?

Try to take time out to chat and ask a few questions about your staff—both work-related and on a human level. And when you’re talking to your team, watch out for your body language and avoid any distractions. Listen to the answer and respond thoughtfully. To be approachable you want ensure you’re engaged in the conversation.

Getting to know your staff builds more open, trusting relationships. There’s no need to be deeply involved in their personal lives, but it’s nice to know a bit about their families, interests and hobbies.

And you don’t have to be everyone’s bestie to be approachable. One of the biggest barriers to positive relationships can be the hierarchy in your team—it can make you instantly intimidating to your staff, potentially hampering your best efforts to friendly and open. So, what can you do to disrupt business hierarchy and improve your approachability?

Be positive

People are drawn to others with a positive outlook.

There will always be the challenges in business—rarely is everything plain sailing. But how do you communicate these difficulties to your team? Do you tackle them together?

A strong leadership quality is optimism in the face of adversity. It can be tempting to show frustration but approachable leaders acknowledge that, whilst there are unavoidable troubles, they still have confidence in their team to make the best of the situation. Namaste, folks.

Meet out of the office

If your staff are sat behind their laptops all day, they may not get the chance to get to know you, or each other. Why not give them a chance to socialise, learn a new skill, or take part in an activity to break down any divides in your team?

If a whole day away from the office feels like too much time away, or an unjustifiable expense, what about shorter activities? You can keep it simple and arrange drinks after work on a Friday. Or why not combine the best of both worlds with an hour’s escape room experience like Escape Hunt, followed by a drink in their lounge to celebrate a job well done.

The main goals of non-work activities are to improve productivity and minimise personal barriers. So, it’s worth the time and investment to make your staff feel valued, as well as giving you a chance to reveal your fun, approachable side.

The best bit? No MC Hammer moves required.