employees are the ones who interact with customers, and whatever rules you lay down for

them, they won’t make customers feel happy and engaged unless they’re happy and engaged

themselves. And yet, too few bosses put the needed time and energy into building strong

relationships with their employees.

That viewpoint comes from Chris Van Gorder, CEO of Scripps Health, former police officer,

and author of The Front-Line Leader: Building a High-Performance Organization from the

Ground Up. “It’s all about building the relationships that create trust. It’s not rocket science

but most managers don’t do it. They don’t take the time to do it.”

That’s a shame, he says, because taking the time to build those relationships would in turn

make managers’ jobs much easier. “Any time you trust your employees and they trust you,

your business will be easier to run,” he says.

Here’s Van Gorder’s prescription for creating relationships of mutual trust:

Don’t act superior.

As the head of your company, or the manager in your department, you’re already in a position

of authority. There’s no need to underline that fact by treating the people who work for you as

though they are somehow inferior.

Do their jobs.

Once a year, Van Gorder leaves his office and takes a position as an emergency technician

in one of Scripps’ hospitals. “I show up in a set of scrubs, make beds, deal with bed pans,”

he says. “Over the course of the day, I get to see how the flow works. The nurses enjoy

bossing me around in the morning but by afternoon we’re having nice discussions about

health care and how to improve things.”

Answer every email.

At least every email from an employee. People are surprised that Van Gorder does this,

but he says it’s worthwhile. “Answering their questions, quelling rumors, and communicating

what we need go are all essential,” he says. The key to his email philosophy? “Don’t fall

behind!” he says.

Go to the gemba.

Gemba (or genba) is Japanese for “the real place.” It’s used by Toyota and other companies

to refer to the factory floor and/or anywhere employees do the real work of the company.

Van Gorder thinks going to the gemba is so important that he actually clears his schedule

every Friday and spends the day walking around Scripps hospitals and having dialogue with

employees.

Have no secrets.

“There are only three things we don’t tell employees: confidential patient information;

confidential personnel information; and business deals that come with confidentiality rules.”

As for everything else, he says, “We don’t keep secrets from employees. We talk with people

about our business challenges and why we’re making the decisions we are. It’s building trust.”

Most leaders, he says, choose to hold back at least some information that they could legally

share. “We want people to know we’re not going to hold back on them.”

Support employees every way you can.

When an employee faces a personal crisis, Scripps will do everything possible to support

that employee and lend assistance when needed. This is something large companies typically

do more often than small ones, Van Gorder says. But small companies should lend similar

levels of support. “Every company has resources and can rally around so that employees

know their employer will do everything it can for them during their time of need.”

Give clear responsibilities and let employees know they’re accountable.

How does Scripps make sure to hit those targets? “We hold people accountable to the goals

of the organization,” Van Gorder says. “We talk about a three-legged stool: responsibility,

authority, and accountability.  We teach every manager in our organization, ‘We’re going

to hold you responsible for meeting your targets. You can miss them once, but you won’t be

around to miss them twice.'”

Let your employees know they are important by doing these things and they will be loyal.  

Don’t just talk the talk, you must also walk the walk.