Meeting people where they are
In yesterday's post, I talked about the need for leaders to be in touch with the culture and people - by walking around, engaging with staff, and asking questions. It's probably worth touching on the fact that many managers and leaders are pretty extroverted, often used to being in "sales mode". We need to dial it back and listen - both to what's said and especially what isn't. As my grandfather used to say, "God gave people two ears and one mouth for a reason".
The risk isn't just monopolizing the conversation instead of asking questions and listening (not good) -- but also being too casual and saying something in an informal way that's open to misinterpretation. Management trainings frequently riff on unintended consequences of offhand comments by leaders. From David Mather's Practical Leadership: Lessons from an Executive Coach:
"Consider the story of a newly appointed CEO taking a tour of his new corporate headquarters. As he walked through the main lobby, he glanced out the window at a large tree in the courtyard and offhandedly remarked, 'I'm not sure that tree fits the overall aesthetic.' He moved on and promptly forgot the comment. By the end of the day, a maintenance crew had cut down the tree, ground the stump, and laid fresh sod. The CEO was shocked, but the staff thought they were fulfilling a directive."
John Honingford wrote a thoughtful essay on how to deal with this if you're on the receiving end of such an exchange with a higher level leader (CEOs Don’t Make Suggestions. Or Do They?). A key suggestion is to dig for context & clarify expectations -- were they really expecting action? Take a beat before jumping to conclusions.
Finally - and I realize if you are atop a large hierarchy this is harder than people realize - take the time to remember people once you meet them. I'll leave you for the weekend with this clip from the 2009 film about Nelson Mandela, Invictus:
