How to Get to Know Your People Using Two Tools

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Today’s email from the 2025 Wichita Industrial Trade Show Leadership Pulse Survey results covers a problem I’ve seen up close and in person for decades.

I grew up in my folks’ blacksmith and welding business that my dad started in 1970. Over the years, that business has adapted and changed to meet the needs of our customers.

For instance, Harrod’s, Inc. isn’t sharpening plow shears in the forge like when I was a kid. The focus is now more on dirt work and oilfield services with my brother running the show after my dad passed away earlier this fall.

While the structure and type of work my family business has done has changed over the years, one challenge in the business has stayed the same:

Hiring and keeping good help.

We Can’t Find and Keep Good Help

It can seem almost impossible to find people who want to work in a trade or manufacturing business.

That’s true for small, family-owned businesses like ours and big corporations. I’ve seen it personally in the HVAC and architectural glass and metal industries for years.

And I bet you have too.

Not surprisingly, this was a common theme of several responses to this WITS survey question:

If you could fix one problem with your team dynamics, what would it be?

If you could fix one problem with your team dynamics, what would it be?

The message I heard loud and clear was captured perfectly by this survey reply:

“We need more good, reliable people who want to work.”

The problem is easy to identify because you feel it almost every day, but it’s so hard to solve.

And the problem isn’t typically just getting workers in the door.

It’s keeping them there!

So, what can you as a business leader do to help solve this problem?

The starting point is to remember that you’re dealing with people and as we talked about in a previous email, people can be challenging.

We’re all different, but we also have many things in common.

That’s good news for us as leaders because it gives us a solid foundation to build on.

3 Basics of Human Nature to Help You as a Leader

I don’t have all the answers for how to retain talent, but I do have some recommendations that go back to three basics of human nature:

• People want to feel appreciated.
• People want to do the work they’re made to do.
• People want to know they’re doing meaningful work.

When you’re meeting these needs that every one of your people naturally has, your chances of them staying with your company go way up.

And meeting these needs of your team members starts with the simple step of getting to know them.

How to Get to Know Your People

As a leader, you have to KNOW your people. You have to know who they are as individuals, as unique human beings.

This takes time. But at the pace your business typically runs, you don’t have much time to spare.

I get it. The same is true for me and for almost all of my clients in businesses like yours.

That’s why I highly recommend two tools that help you get to know your people quicker than any other method I’ve used.

The first is the Six Types of Working Genius Assessment created by Pat Lencioni.

Get to Know Your People by Using the Six Types of Working Genius Assessment

I recommend the Working Genius Assessment to quickly determine what types of work bring a person joy, energy, and fulfillment and which types of tasks cause them to lose their motivation like coffee spewing out of a mug with a gaping hole in the bottom of it.

The online assessment takes about 10 minutes and you get your results emailed to you immediately.

Based on what dozens of my coworkers and clients have told me after taking the assessment, you’ll have a much deeper understanding of yourself and your team members faster than you ever imagined.

The insight from the Working Genius assessment will help you keep the people you hire and give them the opportunity to thrive and flourish while they’re doing the work your business needs them to do.

And they’ll feel more appreciated by you and their coworkers.

If you’d like to see an example of the Working Genius Assessment, you can review mine by clicking here.

After you see my report, take a moment to ask yourself this question:

“Do I know Greg better after seeing his Working Genius Assessment results?”

If your answer is Yes and you and I don’t work together every day, imagine how much better you’ll know the people on your team after seeing their results!

You can buy the assessment for yourself and your team at workinggenius.com and work through it yourself.

As a thank you for being a part of the 2025 Wichita Industrial Trade Show Leadership Pulse Survey, I’d be happy to offer you 20% off the cost of the assessment.

Just reply to this email and I’ll send you a link.

Or, if you’d prefer to have me guide you through interpreting and understanding the results and deciding how to best apply them with your team, I’d love to help you move up the learning curve even faster. You can explore the services I offer by clicking here.

The second tool I recommend will also make them want to stick around because it helps them stop feeling invisible, overlooked, and taken for granted.

Get to Know Your People Using the Five Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace

It’s called The Five Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace by Dr. Gary Chapman and Dr. Paul White.

You may be skeptical and think that something that sounds soft like “appreciation” won’t work in a manufacturing, trades, or service-based business, but it will.

I talked with a manager of an open pit mine in South Dakota who raved about the positive impact the program made with the people in their business.

And if you’ve ever spent time in a mine, you know it’s one of the roughest working environments you can find.

But even in places like this where workers are doing the toughest, dirtiest jobs, people still have the same human needs.

I had the privilege of interviewing Dr. White on my podcast a few years back and appreciated these things he shared:

• How people who are working remotely want to be shown appreciation
• How to keep remote and hybrid workers connected using a 3-step process
• What younger employees really want from organizations and you as a leader
• Why appreciation and connection is important for everyone, even “tough guys” and “tough gals”
• Why showing authentic appreciation delivers better results than traditional recognition programs
• The right way to build trust as a leader by letting people get to know you. And, an easy trick to get started.

You can listen to our conversation here: How To Help Your Team Stay Connected Through Appreciation – Dr. Paul White.

If you’re in Wichita, Kansas like me, you might find it interesting to know that Paul lives here too. His office is over by Towne East mall.

I think it’s cool that he’s making a positive impact on people and workplaces around the globe from right here in southcentral Kansas.

Caring for People is Hard but Worth the Effort

These are two tools that I’ve found work for me and the people I’ve worked with, but I know there are many more resources I haven’t tried.

What tools or techniques have you found helpful to get to know and retain the team members you want to keep?

Whether you try one of these tools or both or others that work for you, I encourage you to keep at it.

It’s hard work to get to know and care for your people but it’s worth it.

Your efforts as a leader will not only help you find and keep good help and benefit your business. You’ll also be improving the life of a fellow human being to help them enjoy their work and perform at a higher level. That will create a ripple effect that will positively affect their families and their communities.

You may not see all the effects that come from the investment of your time and energy, but you WILL make a difference in the lives of people far beyond your company.

You’re doing important work as a leader of your people and your business!

Keep it up!

Helping you lead with clarity and confidence,

Greg

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