As a leader when you take over a team or start mentoring your team members, bear in mind that there are 2 sides to the story.

From my experience, I have seen a significant connection between the “Professional side” of the person to the “Personal side”.

A team member’s performance in the office is not purely based on the factors that are on the professional side – e.g. merit increments, hikes, career growth, etc. In fact, your performance on either side of your life is heavily influenced by the factors on the other side.

A resource going through a personal crisis will find it that much more challenging to bring his/her best version to the office. Similarly, a candidate unhappy at work is bound to bring back negative energy into his/her personal life. And, this vicious circle gets messier if you do not address the root cause of the pain.

You will be surprised to see how a high-performing candidate has a balance on both sides of their life and as leaders it is very important that we deal with a team member in totality while grooming them.

Next time when you are trying to help your team member or mentor them – try striking a balance on both aspects. You will be surprised by what you find.

PS: Personal information is “Personal”. As a mentor, you cannot push into your mentee’s personal space and ask random questions. Once your mentee or team member starts trusting you as a leader, they will open up themselves. Your primary focus should be to build trust and honor that trust.