What is in a name?

I was told once by someone I respected that they can not remember names but they remember faces.

What is the point?

So the next time you see them, you can say Hi… Thin long beard face?

One of the top leadership skills that goes unnoticed is the ability to remember names AND faces.?

Leading teams of up to 150 people, It was vital that I know each person’s name. After all, In most places, they have the name on a uniform or name tag. The real winner from a leadership standpoint is remembering the face when someone mentions that person's name.?

I have always used the unique way of mentioning a person's name a few times when I met them to sink their name in my head. This is a great memory technique but it also helps that person feel recognized.?

From a leadership standpoint, making someone feel recognized is another leadership skill that is less than utilized.?

When we use these two skills together, we begin the process of People over Profit.

There was a time when a Store Manager that I worked with thought he was well-liked. In fact, he was with about half the store. The other half didn’t know what to think of him, nor had they even met him. He was sure, everyone knew who he was.

One day, the department head had an incident that required the Store Manager's intervention.

During the meeting, everyone came in and sat down. There was polite banter, and then the employee came in.?

They came in and sat down. The Department head began the conversation, and the Store manager intervened. “I hope you understand that this is how we want to do things around here. You will learn when you have been here a while” He stated.?

“I am sorry, I have been here for 4 years already, and to be honest, this is the first time you have spoken to me.” The employee said.?

The Store Manager was taken aback. “Well that can not be true,” He said.

The employee replied “You talked to my orientation class 4 years ago, so I know who you are. Yet it is very true that after that day, I have not talked to you.”?

This conversation should have upset the Store Manager.?

It did not.?

He said to me later on that day, “We have over 60 employees, there is no way to know all of them.”

“I do not always disagree with you, but here I have to. It is our job as leaders to know everyone that works with us. What they do, and if they enjoy it.” I said.

He mentioned that was not in his wheelhouse and kept on going.

This Store Manager ended up being let go a few years later, his stores suffered in performance, and his teams had high turnover.

He did not end up using the two critical skills of recognizing people and knowing who they are. If he had, the team would be intact and the employees would feel comfortable coming to him with questions and concerns.?

Know your people, recognize your people, and they will be excited you are leading them.