Why Remarkable Leaders Seek Insights at Every Level
Combine feedback, self-reflection, and mindset for tremendous success
Can you remember the last time you received encouragement to share your thoughts or insights with someone to whom you didn’t directly report? It feels good like you are being seen for more than the role that you have been hired for.
Even better when you are listened to attentively.
That interest tends to bring the employee to employee, or even employee to management divide, closer together.
For instance, consider a conversation that a former manager asked of my youthful 20-year-old self.
Working a summer job at a local restaurant, one of the owners asked to speak with me. I was, understandably, nervous. As it turned out, he was interested to know my thoughts on the staffing for some of our crush times.
Hesitant at first, I finally told him that it was inadequate.
Customers were waiting too long, and the service was suffering. Waiting for his response, I worried about criticizing the way things were done. Smiling, he thanked me for my candor. By the next weekend, the staffing schedule changed.
That conversation and the ensuing changes meant feeling less like a cog and more like a valuable part of the business.
My insights mattered, my voice, heard. It was empowering and for the remainder of the summer months, a much happier place to work.
Remove leader ego and foster more positive work cultures
This is where remarkable leaders are seen.
When they remove the leadership ego and instead foster and support a culture of shared learning and insights, real growth is possible.
Leaders understand this doesn’t “just happen.” By communicating expectations, nurturing, and modeling the behaviour, work cultures are transformed.
Consider schools, in which there is a diverse employee group. The hierarchy begins with the principal, then vice principals. Next are the teachers, then the educational assistants. Finally, the office administrators and the maintenance workers.
Each group interacts with students, parents, and each other in different ways. Often there are divisions within the hierarchy and the amount of inclusion or exclusion that each group feels is dependent upon the leadership within the workplace.
All are working to support the learning needs of the students. Unfortunately, it isn’t always seen that way.
Sharing insights across workgroups improves morale
You know what happens though, when work silos occur, don’t you? People begin to feel invisible and unappreciated. Lacking direct involvement with each other or other managers and leaders, valuable insights are lost.
In her book Mindsets, author Carol Dweck gives us many examples of how leaders can foster an encouraging, inclusive, and growth-minded culture.
Instead of believing insights are only possible from the top down, she cites the example of GE CEO Jack Welch. “Welch never stopped visiting the factories and hearing from the workers. These were the people he respected, learned from, and in turn, nurtured”.
Final thoughts
Are you a leader?
Most of you are, in one capacity or another, whether at work, at home, or in the community. What kind of leader would you like to be? Are you confident enough to hear what others around you have to say, even when it may not be what you want to hear?
Are you willing to take time and reflect on the feedback you receive, so that you can continually improve?
To fully benefit and grow your respective area of responsibility, your best bet is to adopt an attitude of continuous learning. Open yourself to hear the thoughts and knowledge of others.
If you’re willing to take time and reflect on the feedback you receive, you’ll grow professionally and personally.
This is how you’ll improve the bottom line. Along with employee engagement and your leadership capacity.
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