Our hummingbird feeder was very active this past year. Each day, the tiniest birds in the world would hover in mid-air and lap up red “artificial nectar” we had mixed up from a package. They are fascinating birds to watch and my curiosity caused me to surf the web for more facts. I found out hummingbird’s wings beat 70 times/second – they fly forward, backwards, and even upside down – and they can reach speeds of 25 to 30 mph.
But what intrigued me the most was their amazing memory. According to The World of Hummingbirds website, they know every flower in their territory and how long it will take each flower to refill. And, they visit an average of 1000 flowers/day for nectar.
Wouldn’t it be great if leaders knew their employees as well as hummingbirds know the thousands of flowers in their territory? Wouldn’t it be great to have leaders know when their employees needed to be refilled, refreshed, reenergized, reengaged?
A 2011 Leadership IQ report stated that 66% of employees, both in-house and remote, said they had too little interaction with their bosses. Without this interaction, how do leaders know how “full” employees are to handle:
A leaders’ span of control (number of direct reports) – time allocation for direct employee interaction – and building genuine relationships and trust will accelerate high performance. It’s a competency great leaders must master.
Hummingbirds know every flower in their territory to survive – leaders should “genuinely” know every employee in their work-group to thrive.
But what intrigued me the most was their amazing memory. According to The World of Hummingbirds website, they know every flower in their territory and how long it will take each flower to refill. And, they visit an average of 1000 flowers/day for nectar.
Wouldn’t it be great if leaders knew their employees as well as hummingbirds know the thousands of flowers in their territory? Wouldn’t it be great to have leaders know when their employees needed to be refilled, refreshed, reenergized, reengaged?
A 2011 Leadership IQ report stated that 66% of employees, both in-house and remote, said they had too little interaction with their bosses. Without this interaction, how do leaders know how “full” employees are to handle:
- Change in process, procedure, technology
- Rapid growth of business
- Being company, product, and service advocates
- Delays in getting replacements and/or new hires
- Extended periods of overtime
A leaders’ span of control (number of direct reports) – time allocation for direct employee interaction – and building genuine relationships and trust will accelerate high performance. It’s a competency great leaders must master.
Hummingbirds know every flower in their territory to survive – leaders should “genuinely” know every employee in their work-group to thrive.
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