I spend a fair bit of time in cafes having meetings or coaching and I am always perplexed when the staff won’t come over to ask if you want anything else.
I was in a cafe the other day for 2 hours (we were pretty much the only people in it) and still I had to go to the counter to get any service. I would have ordered more if I had been asked. Maybe they don’t want to seem like they are pestering or perhaps don’t see it as their job or the way it is done?
I used to presume if people had a problem they would tell me, or if they needed advise they would ask, or if I could help they would show me how.
How often do we presume people will come to us if they want something. We presume that we don’t have to actively go out to engage people but that they will come to us.
In reality leaders are the ones going to people to begin understanding what they want and keeping them engaged. Waiting in your office for the phone to ring or someone to walk in isn’t going to make things happen. Leaders need to be walking the floor, having regular catch ups with staff, actively talking to and soliciting customer and client opinions and reaching out to those they want to help.
Who are you hiding from?
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