In Chapter Ten of The Art of War, Sun Tzu said, “if you treat them well, you will get their utmost power.” Of course, the them he is talking about are those you lead. In Chapter 5 of my book, No Yelling, I talk about this very thing. In fact, the chapter is called Taking Care of People.

Fads will come and go but the principles of leadership are universal. Historians debate if Sun Tzu was a real person but what cannot be debated is that the principles of which he, or whoever, wrote, are truly timeless.

In this time of incredbile uncertainty it is even more important to take care of your people. I talked about this the other day when I talked about the rumor mill. The best way you can take care of them these days is to simply lend an ear, if they want one, and show support. I assume you are already communicating with them to prevent the rumor mill from taking over. But this conversation must be ongoing. And you must set a positive example. That doesn’t mean you deny reality but it does mean you remain positive and communicate as much as you possibly can.

In times like these you truly need the “utmost power” of all of your people. You will not get it if you are not communcating and if you are hiding in your office. We are all concerned, to some degree, with the economy and how it will impact us personally. Your employees have concerns, you don’t have to solve them but you do need to show your humanity and that you care. If you don’t you will not get their power.

It doesn’t matter what is happening, you are well served when you apply the universal principle of leadership success. Take Care of Your People.

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