The term approachable is often seen as something positive. People who have approachable character are often viewed as friendly, helpful, and open. Some people argue that a business leader should be charismatic and authoritative rather than approachable. What happens when a leader is more approachable to their employees? Is it  good or bad thing to happen in professional environment?

Becoming a more approachable business leader

A business leader must have great leadership skill. Some people were born with it that they look so natural with their leadership skills. Some people obtain leadership skills by learning diligently. So does a business leader with good leadership skills mean they are not supposed to be approachable? Can excellent leader be more approachable or not?

Managing business along with the people involved in it can be challenging, draining, and demanding. Maybe it is one of the reasons why a leader often look serious and unapproachable to their employees all the time. However, being a more approachable leader has many advantages. When you are approachable, your employees will not hesitate to ask for help from you, they will tell what’s on their mind at ease, and they may grow respect instead of fear. If you aim to become more approachable as a business leaders, here are things you can do:

Foster self-awareness

You may have created  a solid image of yourself as a business leader and as a person. However, sometimes the image you create on your mind doesn’t fully accurate with what people see you as. Therefore, it is a necessary to look at yourself and focus on what you do. Find out what you talk about the most, what behavior you often carry, and how you handle problems. 

Then, see how your employees act around you since it can indicate a reflection of your leadership. If they tend to avoid you when they are struggling or seem uncomfortable seeking out help from you then you might not be as approachable as you have thought. By fostering self-awareness, you will identify those things better and make changes if necessary.

Adopt open communication

There must be times when your employees doing certain things because they thought it’s what you want them to do while in fact it’s not at all what you want. The root of this kind of problem is poor communication. to avoid those things, you need to establish open communication. 

Openly communicate priorities and values to your employees as a collective not individually. Make sure to let your employees know that they are also your priorities. Their well-beings are priorities so they know that you don’t expect them to work late every day or let them miss out important moment in their lives. 

Set an example on how to help each other and start seeing it as a gift rather than burden. Also, let your employees know that sharing responsibilities doesn’t make one less than another. Slowly, your team will rise to your example and you will become more approachable to them.