Lower the Guard, Lift the Team
Years ago, I was standing with a group of leaders waiting to greet a senior executive who was visiting from Korea. Everyone ahead of me bowed deeply. When he reached me, I started to bow too, but he broke into a grin and pulled me into a hug.
It caught me off guard and the memory brings a smile to my face to this day. Because it wasn’t about protocol. It was about connection.
I’ll admit it: I’m a hugger. Always have been. And while hugs don’t fit every situation, I believe leadership needs more of what a hug represents: warmth, trust, and the courage to be a little vulnerable.
Getting closer doesn’t have to mean physical contact. It’s about creating moments where people feel seen and safe to bring their full selves. That’s what turns coworkers into allies and ideas into action.
Bring Connection to Life
If you want this kind of closeness to ripple through your team, try these practical moves:
Open every meeting with a genuine check-in. Ask one real question about how people are doing, not just what they’re doing.
Trade one email for one call each day. A two-minute live conversation builds more trust than ten perfectly written messages.
Give specific appreciation on the spot. Instead of “good job,” say, “Your clarity in today’s client call kept us on track.
Share one personal learning each week. A quick story of something you got wrong, and what you learned signals that it’s safe for others to be real.
Spot small wins out loud. Catch people doing something right and name it before the day ends.
These aren’t grand gestures. They are simple, repeatable actions that turn distance into trust and make big goals easier to reach.
That unexpected hug years ago reminded me of something bigger than one greeting: leadership is about closing distance. Whether through a story, a call, a word of appreciation, or yes, sometimes an actual hug, every time you get closer, you give people a reason to stand with you when it matters most.
