Let’s face it – the last couple of years has been hectic for most people. In many ways, organisations have been in unchartered territory and some employees still have more questions than answers. We may be past the peak of the pandemic, but some workers are still scarred from enormity of changes in a relatively short space of time.
However, with adversity comes a silver lining. Each organisation has needed to fine tune their approach to communicating with the employee group to ensure the checks and balances are in place to deliver timely information about key business decisions. Some organisations continue to rise brilliantly to the challenge and others are learning from their mistakes along the way.
Employers may know who their ‘star’ leaders are, but uncertain times shine a new light on which leaders have what it takes to communicate effectively. It demonstrates which leaders purely ‘tick a box’ when it comes to disseminating key business information. Who are the ‘talkers’ and who are the ‘listeners’?
All employees want their voices to be heard – but what they really want is for their leaders to listen to what is being said and importantly to what is not. Leaders who authentically listen and ask the right questions can build trust and loyalty. It is about demonstrating open body language, welcoming facial expressions and open-ended questions designed to find the underlying cause of concerns.
Have you been to an important business update with anticipation of the news that will be shared – only to leave with more questions than answers? Senior leaders can sometimes be notorious for standing at the front of crowded meeting rooms talking nonstop to a handful of strategic summary slides. When the talking is over, they may take a few questions from the group perhaps thinking that their job is done.
The problem in this scenario is twofold. Firstly, the senior leader will normally have time constraints and secondly, in some cases they are not skilled at creating a psychologically safe environment where every employee feels confident to ask the tough questions.
Imagine if your senior leader was able to sit amongst the team at the conclusion of the presentation and ask:
“What haven’t I told you that you need to know?”; or
“Tell me about a work concern that is keeping you up at night?”
Now envisage that leader sitting there until every person left with the answers they needed to give them the confidence to go about their day. Some may see this strategy as a cost, but emotionally intelligent (EQ) leaders are clear that there will be a strong return on their investment.
5 ways leaders can become better listeners
When there is a key business change, some leaders will scramble from update to update. For some, the focus will be on drip feeding information as opposed to listening to the employee’s questions and concerns.
This dedication to share regularly should be applauded – but in the rush to spread the news, many leaders have overlooked that the best way to know if the message has been understood is to listen. When communication is one way, employees do not have an opportunity to speak and they find themselves asking, “What does this mean for my job?”. Leaders who do not listen to their teams can trigger fear in employees simply because there is a disconnect in the message and workers fear the worst.
It is certainly not enough to ‘just turn up’. Transformational leaders make the difference by being mindful of the external factors that are at play. How many changes have the employee group already been through? Has there recently been redundancies? Is this the third restructure in two years?
Scanning the environment and stepping into the conversation with empathy and mindfulness are integral to effective listening. Leaders with strong EQ are engaging openly in the dialogues that matters to employees and holding eye contact through the difficult discussions.
Senior leaders may have a plane to catch, a pressing external meeting or board meeting, but it is damaging to the desire to be authentic when leaders are simply ‘going through the motions’ to tick the communication box. Emotionally intelligent leaders plan to be there for as long as it takes to ensure that employees feel heard and that their time is also respected. It is important to not get distracted by personal agenda or ego and ensure that technology is muted.
Senior leaders are in those positions for a reason and they have the confidence and capability to ‘cut to the chase’, but it is integral that they resist the urge to interrupt as each occurrence brings disengagement and teaches employees it is not worth asking the question.
Some people view silence as suppression but it is where understanding begins. Every employee seeks to understand and be understood; however most people do not truly listen, they listen with the goal of responding. Many leaders have a strong urge to talk. This can come from a desire to control the conversation; get to the end point quicker or even to demonstrate what they know. There is immense value in suppressing the urge to respond as silence is the source of acknowledgement, appreciation, and the beginning of understanding.
One of the greatest oversights in the art of listening is understanding that the other person is not you. Every person is unique and the sum of their own diverse background and experiences. It is critical to acknowledge that the person speaking is not coming from the same assumptions and this alone drives difference.
Mastering the art of listening is beneficial to everyone and when leaders turn up to the meeting with curiosity and the intent to learn from their team members - trusted relationships are formed. Listening is a leadership behaviour that influences every facet of organisational performance which perhaps, Epictetus, the Greek philosopher summed up perfectly: “We have two ears and one mouth for a good reason.” It is now time that we listen and talk in that proportion.
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Georgina is Senior HR Content Editor – Publications at Ai Group. She is an accomplished Human Resource professional with over 25 years of generalist and leadership experience in a broad range of industries including financial services, tourism, travel, government and agriculture. She has successfully advised and partnered with senior leaders to implement people and performance initiatives that align to business strategy. Georgina is committed to utilising her experience to create resources that educate and engage and is passionate about supporting members to optimise an inclusive workforce culture that drives performance.
