As seen on Fox Business. 

Many people look to Warren Buffett for investment guidance, and rightly so. Buffett is widely recognized as an exceptional judge of corporate value. “The Oracle of Omaha,” as he is known, is arguably the most successful investor in history. Corporate leaders regularly make the trek to Omaha, Nebraska, seeking his wisdom.

With so much attention on Buffett’s investment acumen, it’s easy to overlook another talent: motivating people. It’s one of a host of reasons his investments tend to outperform the market.

The talented managers who run Buffett’s companies remain with him because he keeps them engaged in their jobs.  In Buffett’s own words, “Charlie [Charlie Munger, Buffett’s longtime business partner] and I mainly attend to capital allocation and the care and feeding of our key managers . . . Most of our managers are independently wealthy and it’s up to us to create a climate that encourages them to choose working with Berkshire over golfing or fishing.”

A closer look at Buffett shows, at least in part, how he does it.

1. Communicate pride and confidence in your people

Buffett constantly communicates that Berkshire companies are well-managed and have great people. It’s not unusual to hear him tell employees to “just keep on doing what you’re doing . . . We’re never going to tell a .400 hitter to change his batting stance.” Who wouldn’t be flattered to be praised by Buffett?

Buffett shows that he values people in several ways. He is trusting and forgiving. By investing for long periods in the companies he owns, Buffett indicates that he trusts his managers. He delegates decision-making authority, in his own words, “to the point of abdication.” And when a manager makes an honest mistake, he keeps it in perspective. One manager who informed Buffett that his business had to write off $350 million was stunned when Buffett told him, “We all make mistakes . . . If you didn’t make mistakes, you can’t make decisions ...You can’t dwell on them.”

2. Model civility and respect for others

I met Buffett at a meeting in New York City one time. He patiently waited around to speak  with everyone who wanted to meet him. He was attentive and focused on them, never projecting the slightest hint of self-importance. Buffett’s secretary has said she hasn’t seen him mad once in the many years she has worked for him.

He is confident, yet humble. Buffett knows he’s very good at what he does, and he projects an easy confidence rather than superiority or arrogance. He credits his managers for his success, remains plain spoken, works in a modest office, lives in a modest house, and proclaims thrift as a virtue (the vanity plate on his former car read “Thrifty”).

Compare Warren Buffett to Donald Trump, for example. It’s hard to imagine Buffett prominently displaying his name all over everything he owns or relishing in telling someone “you’re fired.” Instead of it being all about him, Buffett insists it’s all about others.

Given the way Buffett treats people, it should come as no surprise that some private company owners report turning down more lucrative offers in order to join the Berkshire family. It is telling that no manager who sold a company to Buffett has ever left for a competitor, and several continue to work well into their eighties.

3. Be approachable and open

At the annual meeting Buffett hosts in Omaha for Berkshire shareholders, Buffett and Munger sit on a platform, listening to shareholder opinions and answering questions for hours on end. In dealing with his managers he follows the data they provide him in periodic reports and makes himself available if they want to talk. Buffett writes and speaks with candor, even pointing out mistakes he made and what he learned from them. His openness promotes communication.

Buffett’s ways make the managers of Berkshire Hathaway feel proud to be affiliated with the company, feel valued as human beings and feel they can communicate openly and honestly with Buffett. These feelings (or emotions) make people want to give their best effort in their work and make them more energetic, optimistic, trusting and cooperative.

His behavior reflects common sense and yet studies have shown that such behaviors are uncommon in practice among most leaders (for example, Gallup research showed 88% of employees globally are not engaged at work and 70% of employees in the U.S. are not engaged).

Unless you engage people, it will be difficult to attract and keep them. The practices of  Warren Buffett suggest he deserves to be called the Oracle of Omaha when it comes to leading people, too.

Michael Lee Stallard, president and cofounder of Connection Culture Group, speaks, teaches and consults on leadership, organizational culture and employee engagement. He is the author of Connection Culture and Fired Up or Burned Out. Follow him on his blog, Twitter, Facebook, Google+ or LinkedIn.