I recently watched a Ted Talk video about “Why Good Leaders Make You Feel Safe” and I began to think to myself whether any of my leaders that I have encountered in my life made me feel safe. My answer to this question is a simple, “No”. The first leaders we encounter in our lives are our parents which are tasked with loving us and making us feel safe. It is the leadership training that we received from them that determines how safe we feel and whether changes needed to be made in our leadership style if we are to be good leaders ourselves. It is something that I knew I needed to change once I became a mother. 

My leadership style would be based upon my nurturing, motherly spirit; living by the famous saying: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”.  That’s the golden rule to live by. I am very intentional about trying to make others feel like they matter and that they are appreciated for what they do. I believe in structure and following the rules and discipline only when it is absolutely necessary. We are not robots, and we all have strengths and weaknesses that can always be improved on with the help of open communication and guidance.

I can decipher between laziness and trying their absolute best and am always willing to help someone or encourage someone because I know there are times when I am not at my best at doing something but can excel at other times. So, I said all of this to say that even though you may not have had a leader to make you feel safe, be the kind of leader to others as you would want for yourself. It would make an enormous difference in the company you work for and would help combat employee dissatisfaction.