You cannot lead people without really liking them. Intrinsic connection is key to great relationships. So think about this: If you don’t like being around somebody, if you don’t like spending time with them, if you don’t like connecting with them, if you’re not really fond of being in the general presence of that person and you can’t connect that way, how do you create permission leadership?

Permission leadership occurs through empowerment.

It’s through developing people to their highest impact so that you can trust them to go and do it on their own. It says, “I am empowering you to make good decisions and to do the right things, because I trust that you understand you can represent the organization at the highest level possible. Therefore, I’m not going to constrain your ability to do that; I’m going to amplify it by assisting you and helping you so that we can impact the organization at the highest possible potential.”

How do you do that if you’re not spending time with your team? How do you do it if you’re not connecting with them?