What to Do When All Your Staff Need Personalized Attention All the Time

By Alayna Thomas, MS, PHR

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At Magnet Culture, we often remind leaders that today’s workforce needs something previous generations didn’t: individualized attention. Think of your tenured employees as sturdy trees, grounded and content with consistent, universal care. But your new employees? Picture them more like houseplants—each one with its unique needs, including a desire for more mobility.

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Side note: We avoid classifying employees as “tree” versus “houseplant” based on generation. As we say, it’s not about birth year, it’s about mindset. Today’s emerging workforce is bringing a different mindset than their predecessors. Check out How Your Staff Are Like Houseplants: One-Size Attention No-Longer Fits All to learn more.

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Some “houseplants,” like orchids, need loads of specialized care to thrive. Others, like cacti, are low-maintenance and prefer more independence. But what happens when all your team members feel like “orchids” needing constant attention—and you’re already stretched to the max?

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To answer this big question, let’s consider parenting for a moment. Now, I don’t have kids myself, but my friends with multiple toddlers each often talk about how it feels to be needed every second of the day. “When all your attention is demanded at once, how can you keep up?”, I ask them. The consensus? You can’t always. There’s a point – or many points – where human limits kick in, and we simply have to weigh and prioritize the options.

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Maybe you’ve felt this way as a leader, trying to juggle the many “needs” on your team. Remember, your staff ARE NOT toddlers, but your capacity to handle competing demands in the workplace is not unlike the capacity of parents in the home.

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Here’s the good news: great parents have figured out how to navigate these moments, and as leaders, we can too. Let’s take a few lessons from those juggling acts and apply them to today’s workforce.

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1. Build Relational Credit

When a parent cares for two toddlers alone, sometimes one child has to wait. The parent might be cleaning up one child’s scraped knee while another child cries for a snack. If the kid who’s waiting trusts that mom or dad will be there when they can, it’s often because they’ve built up a foundation of love, attention, hugs, kisses, and reliability over time.?

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For leaders, this means building “relational credit” during the interactions you do have with each team member. Engage in genuine conversations, truly listen, and help out when you can. When employees know you’ve got their back, they’re more likely to give you the grace to attend to others when needed. So, while we’re not suggesting hugs and kisses in the office, we do promote the principles of showing up sincerely and consistently.

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2. Embrace the Value of Waiting

Sometimes, through waiting, kids learn something important: others matter too. It helps them find their own resources and gain a bit of patience. These lessons shape resilient, well-rounded kids.

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Similarly, when team members are forced to wait for your attention, they gain valuable experience solving issues independently or considering how they can help others. When you do get the chance to connect, acknowledge and appreciate their patience. Recognize any proactive steps they took or problems they solved while waiting, and then offer your undivided attention. In this way, waiting becomes a chance for growth, not just an inconvenience.

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3. Grow Through the Challenge

When both toddlers in the room have meltdowns at once, it can be overwhelming. And yet, my parent friends often say that these moments have grown them the most, making them more resilient, resourceful, and long-suffering.

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As leaders, we too grow when we’re faced with challenging moments—when our patience is tested and our workload is heavy. This is when we learn to keep our cool, to divide our attention fairly, and to approach each team member with sincerity. This is the kind of leadership that leaves a lasting impact and inspires others.

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Great leadership isn’t born in easy times; it’s honed in challenging ones. When every team member needs a piece of you, remember these lessons. The demands of leadership call us to be fully present, foster resilience, and grow stronger in the process. Your human limitations are part of what makes you a genuine, impactful leader. So, if you haven’t heard it yet today, thank you for what you do!