{"id":7079253,"date":"2026-10-07T13:23:40","date_gmt":"2026-10-07T13:23:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7079253"},"modified":"2026-10-07T13:23:40","modified_gmt":"2026-10-07T13:23:40","slug":"leaders-5-meaningful-ways-to-show-you-care-at-work-that-actually-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7079253","title":{"rendered":"Leaders: 5 Meaningful Ways To Show You Care At Work (That Actually Work)"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

\n

This article was originally written for and appeared on Forbes Coaches Council<\/a><\/p>\n

Through discovery interviews, HR conversations and manager meetings, I often hear how thoughtful and attentive executives and upper-level managers are to those they work with and also how much gets lost in translation, conveyed in ways that can feel condescending, dismissive, \u201cmicro-managey\u201d or untrusting. It\u2019s hard to correctly walk the tightrope between business and personal concerns, between providing support and feedback, and between setting boundaries and showing kindness. So few of us do it well.<\/p>\n

While there is no one-size-fits-all solution to toeing all these lines, here are five methods that have consistently helped my clients navigate the complexity of work relationships while showing that they care.<\/p>\n

Dr. Jo\u2019s Top 5 Ways To Demonstrate You Care To Co-Workers And Employees<\/h2>\n

1. Don\u2019t rush your one-on-ones.<\/strong>
I know you\u2019re busy, so this doesn\u2019t have to be every time, but at least every few meetings, book a longer period of time with your direct reports and key stakeholders. If you usually meet for 30 minutes, try 45 or an hour.<\/p>\n

    \n

    Allow conversations to happen that wouldn\u2019t rise to the surface when you\u2019re rushed and checking the clock. Ask an open-ended question you don\u2019t know the answer to. Then sit back and really listen. Allow time for pauses and silences. These can be the moments when people speak up about something they\u2019ve debated mentioning. Trust me that you want to hear these things\u2014and that you definitely won\u2019t if you\u2019re rushing through a packed agenda.<\/p>\n

    2. Be more specific about how you can help.<\/strong>
    A standard management question is, \u201cIs there any way I can be helpful?\u201d This is a great start but often not specific enough, especially for newer leaders or the overly independent. It\u2019s too easy for people to reply, \u201cNot at the moment.\u201d Instead, ask people what barriers they\u2019re encountering, and talk them through one by one.<\/p>\n

      \n

      Then, when one department hasn\u2019t produced necessary deliverables, you can offer to check in about what the holdup is. When a piece of code is proving hard to figure out, you might have a reference that\u2019s been helpful in the past. If there\u2019s a team collaboration issue, you likely have additional insights that can make the difference.<\/p>\n

      3. Don\u2019t neglect the personal.<\/strong>
      I know some of you reading this are rolling your eyes. Work is work, and you don\u2019t feel like it\u2019s any of your business to ask people about what\u2019s happening for them outside work. Yet, as much as we try, it\u2019s impossible to split ourselves into two\u2014our work and non-work selves. The two inevitably bleed into one another.<\/p>\n

        \n

        Believing you must compartmentalize and only discuss work leaves you with little understanding about the true barriers your colleagues are facing and hampers your ability to plan ahead well. Wouldn\u2019t it be nice to know about a future parental leave six months ahead, rather than just three? Or a parent\u2019s cancer diagnosis that could mean several last-minute trips?<\/p>\n

        Not only does knowing your colleagues better lead to helpful advance planning, but it also builds trust. Now someone isn\u2019t \u201cflaky\u201d; they\u2019re managing more than their share personally and deserve your compassion (and maybe your ability to cover for them). Very few of us can be the reliable workhorse day in and day out without unforeseen disruptions. When you\u2019re there to help others navigate stressful life situations, they will usually return the favor in terms of engagement, communication and \u201ctaking one for the team\u201d themselves.<\/p>\n

        And beyond the utilitarian perspective, I believe this contributes to the world we want to live in, one where we can buffer and support each other when it\u2019s needed.<\/p>\n

        4. Say you\u2019re sorry.
        <\/strong>You messed up. You misread an email. You missed a key date. You didn\u2019t double-check your work before sending it out. You cut and pasted the wrong customer data. It happens. To everyone. Even you.<\/p>\n

          \n

          And while there might be mitigating factors like the direct report who sent you bad data, your EA who sent out the wrong calendar invite (or didn\u2019t send one at all) or the colleague who didn\u2019t include you on an important email, the fact is that if you own the mistake and say you\u2019re sorry, you can repair trust a lot faster than if you justify why that error wasn\u2019t yours alone.<\/p>\n

          It\u2019s best to just accept that you will have failures and that others around you will also have failures and to get better and recover quickly from mistakes. That\u2019s resilience, and these days we all need more resilience built into our systems, so start with yourself.<\/p>\n

          5. Show up.<\/strong>
          Whether it\u2019s a baby shower on a weekend when you\u2019d rather relax, an office happy hour when you\u2019re exhausted or a brainstorming session to help a colleague, try to attend. Of course, it can\u2019t always happen, but why not be the person who\u2019s known to prioritize others? Don\u2019t go too far and lose sight of your own needs, but try to be the person who creates good karma in the workplace and shows up for the team\u2019s success, not just your own.<\/p>\n

            \n

            In his first book, Give and Take,<\/em> Adam Grant\u2019s research showed that high performers (those in the top quartile at work) were disproportionately \u201cgivers,\u201d or people who help others by sharing knowledge, support and mentoring without expecting immediate returns. Teams with more givers also demonstrate significantly higher productivity and lower turnover\u2014nice things to cultivate for your work team!<\/p>\n

            Pop Quiz
            <\/strong>Which of these five methods do you struggle with the most? Start there. Even a 20% improvement will change your relationships at work, and if you\u2019ve read this far, I know you care about those relationships. These are great starting points for indicating that to others.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

            This article was originally written for and appeared on Forbes Coaches Council Through discovery interviews, HR conversations and manager meetings, I often hear how thoughtful and attentive executives and upper-level managers are to those they work with and also how much gets lost in translation, conveyed in ways that can feel condescending, dismissive, \u201cmicro-managey\u201d or […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7079254,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[760,17389,10212,2443,8023,418],"dealstore":[],"offerexpiration":[],"class_list":["post-7079253","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-care","tag-leaders","tag-meaningful","tag-show","tag-ways","tag-work"],"yoast_head":"\nLeaders: 5 Meaningful Ways To Show You Care At Work (That Actually Work) - Som2ny Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7079253\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Leaders: 5 Meaningful Ways To Show You Care At Work (That Actually Work) - Som2ny Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This article was originally written for and appeared on Forbes Coaches Council Through discovery interviews, HR conversations and manager meetings, I often hear how thoughtful and attentive executives and upper-level managers are to those they work with and also how much gets lost in translation, conveyed in ways that can feel condescending, dismissive, \u201cmicro-managey\u201d or […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7079253\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Som2ny Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-10-07T13:23:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7079253#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7079253\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b85e3c3dc0e1daea076524dc8810c371\"},\"headline\":\"Leaders: 5 Meaningful Ways To Show You Care At Work (That Actually Work)\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-10-07T13:23:40+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7079253\"},\"wordCount\":1010,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7079253#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/5-ways-to-share-you-care-at-work.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Care\",\"Leaders\",\"Meaningful\",\"Show\",\"Ways\",\"Work\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7079253#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7079253\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7079253\",\"name\":\"Leaders: 5 Meaningful Ways To Show You Care At Work (That Actually Work) - Som2ny Network\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7079253#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7079253#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/5-ways-to-share-you-care-at-work.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-10-07T13:23:40+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7079253#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7079253\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7079253#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/5-ways-to-share-you-care-at-work.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/5-ways-to-share-you-care-at-work.jpg\",\"width\":1280,\"height\":720},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7079253#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?bp_activities=1\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Leaders: 5 Meaningful Ways To Show You Care At Work (That Actually Work)\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/\",\"name\":\"Som2ny Network\",\"description\":\"Daily Deals\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Som2ny Network\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4a0953c4-logo-300x86-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4a0953c4-logo-300x86-1.png\",\"width\":300,\"height\":86,\"caption\":\"Som2ny Network\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b85e3c3dc0e1daea076524dc8810c371\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/729ae85bf62b9917e93538db2f2688ca?s=96&r=g&default=https%3A%2F%2Ffivemor.com%2Fwp-content%2Fplugins%2Fbuddypress-first-letter-avatar%2Fimages%2Fdefault%2F96%2Flatin_a.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/729ae85bf62b9917e93538db2f2688ca?s=96&r=g&default=https%3A%2F%2Ffivemor.com%2Fwp-content%2Fplugins%2Fbuddypress-first-letter-avatar%2Fimages%2Fdefault%2F96%2Flatin_a.png\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Leaders: 5 Meaningful Ways To Show You Care At Work (That Actually Work) - Som2ny Network","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7079253","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Leaders: 5 Meaningful Ways To Show You Care At Work (That Actually Work) - Som2ny Network","og_description":"This article was originally written for and appeared on Forbes Coaches Council Through discovery interviews, HR conversations and manager meetings, I often hear how thoughtful and attentive executives and upper-level managers are to those they work with and also how much gets lost in translation, conveyed in ways that can feel condescending, dismissive, \u201cmicro-managey\u201d or […]","og_url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7079253","og_site_name":"Som2ny Network","article_published_time":"2026-10-07T13:23:40+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7079253#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7079253"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b85e3c3dc0e1daea076524dc8810c371"},"headline":"Leaders: 5 Meaningful Ways To Show You Care At Work (That Actually Work)","datePublished":"2026-10-07T13:23:40+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7079253"},"wordCount":1010,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7079253#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/5-ways-to-share-you-care-at-work.jpg","keywords":["Care","Leaders","Meaningful","Show","Ways","Work"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7079253#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7079253","url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7079253","name":"Leaders: 5 Meaningful Ways To Show You Care At Work (That Actually Work) - Som2ny Network","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7079253#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7079253#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/5-ways-to-share-you-care-at-work.jpg","datePublished":"2026-10-07T13:23:40+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7079253#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7079253"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7079253#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/5-ways-to-share-you-care-at-work.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/5-ways-to-share-you-care-at-work.jpg","width":1280,"height":720},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7079253#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?bp_activities=1"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Leaders: 5 Meaningful Ways To Show You Care At Work (That Actually Work)"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/","name":"Som2ny Network","description":"Daily Deals","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization","name":"Som2ny Network","url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4a0953c4-logo-300x86-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4a0953c4-logo-300x86-1.png","width":300,"height":86,"caption":"Som2ny Network"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b85e3c3dc0e1daea076524dc8810c371","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/729ae85bf62b9917e93538db2f2688ca?s=96&r=g&default=https%3A%2F%2Ffivemor.com%2Fwp-content%2Fplugins%2Fbuddypress-first-letter-avatar%2Fimages%2Fdefault%2F96%2Flatin_a.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/729ae85bf62b9917e93538db2f2688ca?s=96&r=g&default=https%3A%2F%2Ffivemor.com%2Fwp-content%2Fplugins%2Fbuddypress-first-letter-avatar%2Fimages%2Fdefault%2F96%2Flatin_a.png","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/fivemor.com"],"url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7079253","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7079253"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7079253\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7079254"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7079253"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7079253"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7079253"},{"taxonomy":"dealstore","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fdealstore&post=7079253"},{"taxonomy":"offerexpiration","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fofferexpiration&post=7079253"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}