It’s about giving a damn, sharing more than just your work self, and encouraging everyone who reports to you to do the same. It’s not enough to care only about people’s ability to perform a job. To have a good relationship, you have to care about each of the people who work for you as human beings.
The first step to Caring Personally is deciding that your job is to enable the success of your team. It means you put their needs first, above yours. Caring Personally, more than anything else, is about listening to people. Of course, listen to their hopes, their fears, their dreams, but also listen to their ideas for improving the team, the work, the environment. All the answers are there from your team; you just have to ask.