There are many ways a leader can influence a team and I have observe different leaders in many different environments. I have seen the power of small actions and compared them with big shows of demonstration of power and I concluded that despite small they create more impact on people and they are more often remembered and missed when they are no longer there.

I will start with a simple fruit basket. In fast-paced times, we often disregard our nutritional needs and perhaps prefer faster and less healthy foods. When a leader decides to move against a cost-cutting strategy and start having a small fruit basket to the benefit of the entire team, it says a lot on how much that leader cares about people and about his team.

Showing how much you care about your team, says a lot about how good you are as a leaders.

There is nothing like the first impression.

A caring leader will prioritize that first moment with personalized welcome note. It is great to feel welcomed in particular in your first day at work in a new company or department. You have a small gif and a personalized note at your desk welcoming you – How would you feel?

I have heard many employee stories reflecting on how good or bad were they first day in their job. They are all very impactful regardless of good or bad, so we should pay more attention to this detail.

It is as important the first as the last impression. Most people leave their jobs because they want to have a different challenge and it can be a great moment to recognize that person for everything he / she contributed to the team and to the company. Ultimately, it is important to leave a good memory of this period and make sure that those difficult moments are less important in the overall journey.

We only value what we miss

Unfortunately, we only recognize these caring leaders, when they leave and move on in their careers. People miss when they are not there, but fail to appreciate these simple actions in a daily basis.

What happens often is that without these caring leaders, the team slowly changes back to “normal” and that legacy is forgotten because no one is able to continue those efforts.

In the end, very little remains and the fruit basket is no longer there.