Do:

• show you're interested in both the work and home lives of the people who report to you
• ask about personal and career plans and hopes for the future
• be aware of your direct reports' concerns and what motivates them
• give your people your full attention
• listen to their personal problems to an appropriate degree
• be aware of their work situations and their efforts

Don't:

• be so focused on tasks that you have no time for your employees
• try to keep work and personal life completely separate
• get too deeply involved in the personal lives of your direct reports
• overuse your caring skills to the point where you have difficulty being firm when you need to be
• lose your objectivity on performance and potential
• fail to sufficiently challenge your direct reports
• fail to notice when your caring efforts are not wanted