Here are 7 Easy Leadership Activities that will help you connect with your people and boost morale in the workplace. Better yet, these actions will take little time away from all the other pressing matters you are faced with each day.

Easy Leadership Activity No. 1: You Can Influence in A Better Way by Speaking Less

You will make a marked impression on others and more readily influence them when you are known as a good listener.

As a leader, what is your natural instinct when someone is complaining about things that are wrong with the company, your team, their job, decisions you have made? More often than not, the instinctive response is to justify, defend or explain your position. However, if you can learn to stop this knee-jerk reaction and listen fully ... your ability to connect and influence others will sky-rocket. Because unless people feel that their feelings and perspective have been heard and understood, they aren't ready (or willing) to listen to anything you might have to say.

Practice the Skill of Shush!

When you practice the skill of shush you are deliberately choosing to listen and seek to understand the other person's viewpoint before you start trying to drive home your own point of view or make the other person understand your side of the story.

So, for this easy Leadership Act, practice the skill of 'shush' for the next few weeks. When someone is talking to you about something ... and you feel yourself wanting to jump all over them to correct their (from your perspective) erroneous viewpoint ... catch yourself and practice the skill of 'shush' by not offering up your opinions until you have understood the other person's point of view and you are satisfied that they believe you understand where they are coming from. Your objective here is to strengthen your relationships by being known as a Leader who is open-minded and good at listening (don't confuse that with necessarily agreeing with everything they say -- when you read the Influence Your Way To Success Ebook you will learn how to listen well and then offer another perspective without annoying the other person)

Easy Act No. 2: Have Your Tea and Lunch Along With the Team

The company's cafeteria is the place to learn more about the tempo of any organization ... it is generally far more accurate than anything you might read in a formal Mood/Culture Survey. (Read more here about changing your culture to high performance.)

If you are a manager who is introverted ... or who in the past has not mixed and mingled with front line team members on a personal or professional level ... this may be a bit difficult and uncomfortable initially - (for both you and them) - as you don't yet have any camaraderie or rapport and the trust levels toward you may need some building. Expect them to be guarded and for the conversation to be stilted.

However, take the time to regularly eat or have coffee where your team does (it needn't be every single day - just a few times a week) and after a while people will begin to be more open and trusting toward you. In the early stages avoid any conversations that have to do with work - particularly if you haven't got an easy, open relationship - your initial objective is to just to start building relationships and trust.

As people become used to you being around, eventually they will open up and discussions will turn towards issues that are hindering their performance - they will begin to see that you are a 'good guy' and trust you enough to begin to beef about what isn't working. Now is the time to practice fully Easy Action 1. You must resist, with all your might, the temptation to justify, explain, make excuses for any inadequacies that (from their perspective) have been caused by 'management'. Your prime aim with Easy Leadership Act 2 is to get a feel for the mood of the organization and ideas for how you can continuously improve morale - not to spread the management line, or shut down conversations that are difficult.

This can be a tricky path to weave, you need to be loyal to your leadership team and systems AND make it easy for people to share with you ideas and thoughts that might help improve the situation ... so choose your words wisely as you engage in the conversation.

You focus, during this time, is to just acknowledge (you don't have to agree or disagree, just acknowledge) their concerns and steer the conversation toward ideas they have for fixing the 'problem'. Let them know that you are interested and keen to get their perspective. However, don't make any promises that you can't keep.

For decades it has been well known that the people closest to the problem have the solution. So it is in your (and your organization's) best interest to listen carefully to the ideas people have for fixing the problems within their workplace.

If you cannot use any of their suggestions you may say something along the lines of "while I can't promise that I'll be able to act immediately on your suggestions, I've now got it in my mind and it will certainly help me to make better decisions in the future."

Asking the people who work in the front-line what they'd do differently and then acting on as many of the solutions as you can will truly sky rocket your team's performance. As time goes by and you work with these people to implement their ideas, (and not making promises you can't keep or constantly defending your position) trust will grow ... as trust grows so does their level of optimism and that leads to performance improvement. It's a true cycle of success.

This is one of those leadership activities that are often overlooked but so easy to implement. Be a leader whom front line team members feel free to confide in by spending time regularly with them in 'their world' - whether it is the lunchroom or their work area.

Easy Act No. 3: Project Yourself In An Authentic Manner

Many people know more about their favorite sports team or t.v character than they do about themselves.

Knowing and being comfortable to allow the true you (the person that silently sits behind the mask you wear to work most days) to show up is one of the easiest and yet most challenging of leadership activities. Many leaders fall prey to acting out only those qualities which they think are needed for success. However, research has time and again proved that there is no one single set of characteristics, traits or talents that guarantees success.

The Chairman and CEO of Southwest Airlines, Herb Kelleher, (Kelleher has been voted best CEO by Forbes and Southwest is consistently voted as the most desired company to work for) follows a practice which he calls "Be Yourself". He attributes this simple way of being as one of the keys to his and Southwest's success.

Being Yourself is all about Authenticity and Integrity - which go far beyond just telling the truth. They originate deep within you. The greatest, most inspirational leaders are those men and women who have a strong foundation, upon which they have a clear sense of their values and standards and live them fully.

When you are "Being You" people are more likely to extend their trust to you. Avoid trying to be something or someone you are not so that you can get ahead in life. When you aren't being true to yourself people pick up on the vibe that something isn't quite right with you. For example, there are possibly people in your workplace that you don't fully trust or believe in ... for some reason that you just can't put your finger on. That finger of doubt that you feel may cause you to be less receptive to their requests than you might be toward someone you have great faith and trust in. Often that feeling of "there's something not quite right about him" is you picking up that the person isn't being true to him or herself ... and if they can't be true to them self how on earth are you going to trust them to be true to you?

So your Easy Leadership Act 3 is to "Be Yourself" - in the long-run it will pay dividends far beyond what you can imagine.

Read more here on Authentic Leadership and Aligning Yourself.

Easy Act No. 4: Show Your Appreciation for People's Work

Most people say they don't need to be appreciated, but surveys show they sure do like it! It seems, from data gathered in survey after survey, that people do not feel their immediate leader adequately appreciates them.

To facilitate high performance levels from the people in your team, promote yourself to the rank of 'CEO of the Heart'. To get the high performance results all organizations are after, people need to be committed with not just their heads and their hands, but most importantly with their hearts. When people are connected with their hearts to the goals of the organization then you get inspired performance. One simple way of connecting people's hearts is to show appreciation for their efforts.

It seems saying 'thanks' is becoming a lost skill in our world of busy schedules and rush. When was the last time you received a hand written note from someone (and email doesn't count - real pen, real paper) letting you know that you are doing the right thing and that you are appreciated?

When was the last time you sent a hand-written note to someone letting him or her know you appreciate their efforts (even when that person isn't your best performer)? Don't overlook the power of showing appreciation for effort - and the boost in performance you might get from someone who hasn't been a great contributor.

A wonderful thing about acknowledgment and appreciation is it sets off the 'feel good' endorphins in a person's body. That good feeling is something everyone wants to have repeated, so you are more like to encourage continuing good performance when you regularly use the skill and tool of appreciation.

Here are some sample appreciation letters you can use with your team members.

So your Easy Leadership Act is appoint yourself 'CEO of the Heart' and look for ways that you can inspire people to connect their head, hands and heart to achieving the organization's mission. The quickest and easiest way is through genuine appreciation - but there are so many other techniques you can use to connect people's hearts.

Easy Act No. 5: Find Things To Appreciate About Those People You Find To Be 'Challenging'

Obviously, in any group or team there will be at least one or two people whom you find a bit challenging.

People who defy and do not comply, who are under-performers and who rub you the wrong way certainly capture your attention ... and it can be attention that you begrudge - but if you can look at it from a different perspective, you may be able to see how these people are in fact offering you a wonderful opportunity to discover more about yourself and push you to thinking and behaving in new and different ways.

You have possibly heard of the Law of Attraction - one of the principles of the LOA is that whatever you place your focus upon you will draw forth more of it. So if you are focused on someone being a 'pain in the neck' then that person will show up for you with those behaviors on a regular and consistent basis.

So, whenever you feel yourself resisting a person, pause and instead of focusing on all that they do wrong, find the one or two things that you can appreciate about them (no matter how small). The more you focus your attention on what it is you want the more it will show up. For more on how to effectively influence others and to fine-tune the skill of focusing your attention download the ebook "Influence Your Way To Success".

So your Easy Leadership Act here is give more of your attention to what a challenging person gets right than focusing upon what they do that makes your life difficult. Write out how you would like your relationship to be with this person. You will be amazed, but over time if you really do practice looking for the good - eventually the person's behavior does change. I have witnessed it so many times, I hope you trust me on this one and do practice it. The results won't be immediate but, like building a muscle in the gym, practiced with regularity you will see different results.

Easy Act No. 6: Issue a Business Card to Everyone in Your Team

An incredibly inexpensive and astoundingly powerful practice is to provide each team member with a Business Card. Receiving their very own personal business card (with their name on it - not just a generic card) can be particularly meaningful for team members who have never been in a job 'senior' enough (i.e enough status) to justify their own business card.

Whilst I was working with Colgate-Palmolive, we saw to it that all the team members in the factory were issued personalized business cards. It is really difficult to express the sense of pride many team members felt when they received their first set of business cards. They would proudly give out their cards wherever needed with customers and suppliers and they would also distribute them within their personal circles.

A great example I recall is that of one of our team members doing his weekly shopping in a supermarket gave his business card to a customer. This customer was comparing various detergent powder brands and looked to be about to purchase a competitors product. The team member gave out his card and urged the customer, "Buy Cold Power. I am one of the team members who makes this product. I am sure you will like it and in case you do not like it, here is my card, you can always call me and I take the responsibility of giving your money back."

This impressed the customer so much that she called up to inform us that she will always buy only Colgate products from now on. She went on to add that if the team members are so proud of the product, then it must be worth using.

When people feel important they will promote your business and proudly so and that is very, very powerful.

It's a really nice touch if you can have a person's business card ready for them on their first day of work with you. You not only send a message that s/he is wanted in the company, you also send a message about the hopes and expectations you have for them.

Easy Act No. 7: Know Your People Individually And Take Time To Care

If you don't know your people as individuals; their strengths, weaknesses, hopes, dreams, desires, challenges, learning styles and hot buttons, you will find it difficult to engage and energize them.

Who do you work with that seems to truly care for others? You know, the person in your team who knows the names of the partners and children of the people they work with? Who is the person that seems to know when someone is feeling less than his or her best? This isn't a person who is a snoop, it is a person who has taken the time to connect with other people and show that they care about what is going on in their world, beyond the workplace.

How much do you know about the people you work closely with? Do you know their challenges both personal and professional? Do you know who has a sick child/relative? Do you know the birthday's of people you spend regular time with? Do you know where they want to go on their next holiday .. their favorite hobby, sport, pastime? Do you know any of their life goals/dreams? Have you taken them on a journey to discover their strengths and enabled them to make regular use of them through their work day? Do you know what frustrates them most about working for you and your organization?

Owing to the busy nature of everyone's schedule and getting caught up in your own priorities there is always a high possibility that you can forget to care for others, (or for some it isn't a skill that comes naturally). So make use of a tool like your diary/scheduler to help you to remember to take the time to care.

This isn't manipulative it is simply using a tool to help you to remind yourself to be a human being rather than a human doing.

With so many things on your mind, you can't be relied upon to remember everything that the myriad of people you interact with every day tell you. So it is the ultimate form of caring if you take the time to make notes that remind you of the conversations you have with people and what you would like to follow up with - for example - Ask Jim how brother is doing since being in hospital; Ask Mary how she is going with deciding about her next career move; Speak to Sue about how she is going with her scrapbooking. This simple tool helps remind you that life is about connecting with others and caring about the people you interact with daily.

Your Easy Leadership Act: Make it a habit to connect daily on a personal level with team members as you go about your normal business. When you do this you drive home the point that you care for them and their success is your success.

And A Bonus Easy Action: Take Time To Be With Yourself

Spending a few moments each day connecting with your inner self, listening to your body and sensing whether you are on target for living your life the way you want is one of the most powerful things you can do and will assist you in achieving incredible results in your life.

In fact, you will find that by creating the space to Spend Time Within you struggle less and create more abundance in your world. You are giving yourself the time to replenish and regenerate, to find a sense of inner calm and peace that you then take with you into your external world.

Time for insight and reflection will repay dividends over and over for yourself and the people you interact with daily. You see the bigger picture and are better prepared to take creative and inspired action - rather than reactionary action.

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