What is the simplest way to give value to people?

I was recently asked this during a business mentorship session, and then it also popped up on Quora. Below is my take on it, borne out of personal and business experience. Please let me know your views.

1.    It starts by giving your time. 

Sounds straightforward right? 

But it is actually very challenging in today’s fast-paced and digitally attention-grabbing life to dedicate sufficient time and attention to one particular person or group of people!

A friend of mine was diagnosed with MND in April 2016. The news was a cruel shock and, talking about what would be meaningful that we can do for her, my partner quite simply stated that we can give her our time. Nothing like knowing the other person does not have time on their side to move one to action! 

While in business and business relationships it is never as dire as this, making an effort to spend time with your customer, getting to know them and their business, makes a massive difference to them, and to you.

2.    Listen.

Yip, I know, another no-brainer. But I mean, truly listen (known as active listening or effective listening) - many times listening is enough as people want to feel valued and appreciated – knowing that you are taking in what they feel or experience is super important in creating that feeling. Moreover, there are numerous immediate benefits to being a great listener… searching online for “what are the benefits of great listening skills?” yielded 16.2 million results! 

Things like: “Good listening skills also have benefits in our personal lives, including: A greater number of friends and social networks, improved self-esteem and confidence, higher grades at school and in academic work, and even better health and general well-being” (from www.skillsyouneed.com) and

“Earn the trust and respect of your peers. Understand issues and formulate better solutions. Active listening can help you diffuse conflict.” (from www.seek.com.au/career-advice/3-reasons-why-active-listening-is-a-must-have-skill)

From a career of 25+ years, I can unequivocally say that effective listening is the singular most important skill that differentiates a great leader from a leader, a great manager from a manager, a great employee from an employee and a great team from an ordinary team.   

Combining 1 and 2 is where the real value is created.

• The added dimension for people seeking a personal solution is: once having spent time and effort listening;  to gently steer them into thinking about a particular challenge in a different way…we call it reframing. And who doesn’t like sharing wisdom and experience ??. 
• In business, the value is made tangible by giving direct advice or suggesting a solution. In my experience, going through the process of 1 and 2 leads to proposing the right solution 99% of the time. 

It is the combination of dedicating time, excellent listening and applying knowledge and skills that lead to value for your client and business - something which they will remember and will lead to repeat business.

This is how our team at Leo Complete Solutions help people and businesses every day. https://www.leocompletesolutions.

Written by Bettie van Straaten. Bettie is an experienced leader and C-suite executive with a career spanning 25 years in various industries and continents. She is business executive of Leo Complete Solutions and her educational background is in financial management and legal and she is an alumnus of the global leadership programme, CSC Leaders, selected from exceptional senior leaders from across the 53 Commonwealth countries, as well as an alumnus from the Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Leadership’s programme. Bettie has a passion for social and environmental issues and is co-lead for global expansion of the environmentally and socially just Good4Trust.org online market platform. Bettie also serves on two international boards.