Becoming a Leader Who Listens
Throughout my business career, I spent a lot of time asking frontline employees what caused them the most frustration in their jobs. If they were given the power to change just one thing to help our employees better serve our customers, what would it be?
I learned that from my dad. I started working in our family’s construction business in the second grade, sweeping floors. I progressed to jobs that included framing carpenter, electrician, plumber, heavy equipment operator and job foreman. Those various jobs my dad placed me in helped mold me as a person and a leader.
Everyone in the company knew I was the boss’s son. I hated that. Being the boss’s son was the last thing I wanted to be viewed as. I was determined to work harder than everyone else. I wanted people to want me on their team because of my work ethic, dedication and willingness to do the jobs nobody else wanted to do (like volunteering to go up in an attic of a house in the middle of the summer when it felt like it was over 120 degrees up there, lying down in itchy insulation to fix a broken plumbing pipe). Those jobs also taught me to appreciate the tough jobs the frontline folks do every day and how important their jobs are to the success of any company.
My dad always impressed upon me how important it is to let the frontline employees, who do the tough jobs and are often the face of the company to the customer, know how much they’re appreciated. He also taught me to continually get input from them on ways to improve our products and services. He told me that a big part of my job was to help remove those things that cause them frustration in their daily work. That is solid advice that I’ve used throughout my career.
A key characteristic of listening is for the servant leader to learn to ask the right questions to their team—questions that can inspire new thinking. Sometimes leaders are afraid to ask questions when they don’t know the answer because they don’t want to appear ignorant. They want people to think they know it all. Yet, Jesus told us to be lowly servants, so I’ve never worried about asking a question when I don’t know the answer. I guess I’ve always possessed an inquisitive mind and like to learn new things by asking questions. I also learned from some great leaders, who showed me that being willing to ask great questions not only shows the team you’re engaged and interested in learning more about their operations and struggles, but it can also lead to some new thinking and tremendous opportunities.
When you don’t listen to your employees or your teammates, and fail to empower them, you are wasting an enormous opportunity to make a difference. You’re missing some great ideas and possibly failing to create a culture of engaged employees.
Your employees or teammates can tell you many ideas to make your team better. When you listen to them and eliminate the things that cause them the most frustration in their role, you’re on the way to a high-performing team! Jesus tells us to listen, and I’ve found that listening to your team is of vital importance to anyone who wants to be a respected servant leader making a difference in the lives of others. To do otherwise is simply management waste!
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