~Managing with a Hug~

By: Nasra Al Adawi 

It a study (art) and it’s a science… countless articles talk about the art of managing people. However, what resonated in me was a event held by The Achievement Centre: Lunch and Learn where they hosted Oman LNG CEO, Harib Al Kittani. He simply talked about managing people in a simplest way. In a nut shell he advocated using  human touch.

Harib Al Kittani, used a metaphor that I will always remember which is hug or rather  embrace. He said embrace your people, your client, your community and his list went on and on . The emphasis was irrespective of  ones managing style one has to remember managing people does not work from being in your office it’s about reaching out to people. Human touch is a key element which  begins caring about your people in a genuine way, and it’s  about communicate,  communicate and communicate.

So what is Harib Al Kittani view of his hugging tips:

1-      Hug your people

As a manager, keep your door open for those who want to reach you. Keep constant communication with your people and be constantly engaged with them.  For those who fall behind, we hold them through their falls and understand their stumbles and give them a hand so they can stand again to join the team in the race.

2-      Hug your customer

Only when one get close to customer.. it enables you to reach out to them and serve them better. Customers are people and it takes another human to make them feel special…Human element is what it takes to make the difference

3-      Hug your supplier

Caring for suppliers is another factor that needs to be taken highly. It’s not a vendor relationship its partnership to encourage them to serve you better. It’s not about just receiving supplies from them but also how to deliver our promises to them. Rewarding efficient suppliers, through timely paying their dues will encourage them to want to partner with you more.

4-      Hug your community

It’s essential that hugging need to be extended to the community where live in. Love is never selfish, it needs to spread to the maximum reach. The best way is to give back to community through corporate social responsibly for organization and as a leader of an organization. Best way is to set example 

A hug is a simple human formula that can be applied in different way that suit one’s individual style. If you are managing people, think how your hugging human touch can be unique to you to positively impact the organization that you are working in.

It worked for Harib Al Kittani, because his charming leadership style made him closer to his people and empowered him to create a high performance organization.  Al Kittani contributes the idea of embracing a  hugging style to Jack Mitchell, an author of Hug Your People: The Proven Way to Hire, Inspire, and Recognize Your Employees and Achieve Remarkable Results.

What a thought provoking idea?! Just think on broader sense how a hug can be applied a bit in your individual life.  As Jack Mitchell stated  "A hug is not just a physical embrace. It can be different things for different people at different times. "

Go ahead and do it and it will surely eliminate the communication barriers and pave the way to the power of trust. Thank you Harib for such an empowering lesson.