The most surprising thing leaders don’t do.

There’s one management behaviour that blows my mind whenever I hear about it.

It’s when people tell me that their boss doesn’t routinely say hello to them.

And it happens more often than you might imagine.

For example, I was speaking with a team that said that they hadn’t seen their executive manager in many weeks, even though they worked in the same (not very big) building.

And that, when the executive did come to their area, they often walked past everyone, steely-faced and without acknowledging them or saying hello.

I’m always surprised by this behaviour, as it seems bonkers to me.

Because, as it is with so many of these things, it’s both wrong and dumb.

I think it’s wrong to habitually ignore people with whom we share an important connection (i.e. we’re their boss, even if separated by middle management, so our actions can carry a lot of weight for people). It can cause more distress for people than we often realise.

But it’s also dumb leadership. One of the most effective things we can do as leaders to lift performance is to build employee engagement (it’s a major contributor to productivity). And it’s very hard to do that if we’re not getting the basics right: making sure our people feel seen in the simplest of ways.

And, of course, managers are people too. People who get busy. And shy. And awkward.

And managers can be introverted.

But this is the job we signed up for. And if we’re to succeed in creating engaging work environments where our teams do their best, most impactful work, we need to find a way to get over our inhibitions and busyness, and make sure we’re consistently getting the basics right.

It takes no time at all – and very little effort – to simply say hello to someone as you walk past. And even better if we can address them by name and throw in a genuine, warm smile.

Want more ideas on small, simple actions you can take as a leader to engage your people?

Check our our Daily Acts of Leadership card deck – 52 things that can be done in under 15 minutes each to engage your team.