Why it’s important to take care of your team

From my father I learned the basics of playing and I have passed on what I know to my children because I think it develops strategic thinking, our ability to analyze future scenarios and prepare for what might happen.

Of my three children, Isabella is the youngest and the most playful. She likes to play with me and a while ago she started learning to play chess. Nowadays it’s easier because when you play on your tablet or phone they suggest the moves each piece can make. Although she didn’t have to learn how to move them, I did have to teach her the value of keeping them.

Very early on, Isabella learned that if she moved a piece, it was possible that I would eat it. That she had to control where she was playing and who could attack her. Later she also understood that if she ate me, I could eat her too, if I ‘protected the sign’.

Applied to business

I have found for some time that this simple teaching applies to business. Those of us who manage the workforce need to “take care of our chips.” This means that we guide them in their daily work and help investigate possible risks. To care for them in the personal situations that affect them and ensure that they are doing well. After all, the counters are indispensable to play the game.

I remember a story we were told years ago in a management course. It was about a major project outside the country. One of the aids suddenly changed behavior and seemed distracted and unmotivated. The project manager inquired what was going on with him and discovered that he had a family problem that he could not solve from there. The manager decided to pay for the week’s return trip so he could process what was happening to him. The person managed to solve it and when he came back, his focus on the project was multiplied because he was able to concentrate and he was very grateful.

To me, this is an example of the power of taking care of our chips. To protect them and understand their value. In chess, a simple pawn – the most basic piece – can be turned into a queen if we manage to get it to the other side of the board. In real life we ​​are often confronted with the development of the great professionals of the future. It is very satisfying to see how people rise through our hands and look back with great pleasure on those early stages of their careers.