Of all the management techniques, few are as powerful as curious conversation.
If one of your staff tells you how their job is going, or how they think it should change, or what the organisation should be doing differently, say “tell me more” and ask some follow-up questions.There may be some initial wariness, especially if people aren’t used to having these sorts of chats with their boss. But after that they often widen their eyes, or give an acknowledging nod, and open up. If you haven’t done it, give it a go. It’s magic.
Why don’t leaders listen? Partly because, as Covey wrote, they are thinking about what they are going to say next. And partly because listening is not an attribute many leaders think is important. You can learn the techniques of listening — reflecting back, asking questions — but there is more to it than that. You need to believe your teams have interesting insights.
If you listen and ask interested questions, you may decide to do what your staff thinks you should do — or you may conclude you need to do something else, or nothing. Your employees may not be pleased, but at least they have been heard.You are far more likely to reach a productive outcome if you spend the first part just listening, encouraging others to talk.
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