Are You Listening?

I had a teacher in primary school. She was scary as hell. We were just as scary to her I am sure. She had many hilarious phrases she would hurl in our direction. But, there is one I remember her saying more often than any others. “JARREN!! Are you aware that those things on the sides of your head are not ornaments?”

How many of us go through our days and weeks hearing people talk but don't listen to what they're saying? Every single one of us in some form or another. 

It happened to me earlier this week. My daughter was telling me a story on our way home from school pick-up. When she finally got to the end of her tale, she started laughing. It was at that point I realised I hadn’t listened to a single word she’d said. I couldn’t have told you any part of that story if my life depended on it. 

That evening when I was doing my journal for the day I realised that I had done a lot of listening earlier that day. I had one-on-ones with a few of the team. And, in those scenarios, I make an effort to actively listen to the feedback I’m getting. 

Thinking about why those situations were so different led me to a great theme for this week’s blog post.

If you’re not prepared to listen, absorb and learn you’re going to fail. This goes for starting as a new leader in any business. In fact, this is superb advice for almost any aspect of your life.

Every manager, VP, or C-suite leader has some amount of experience - you’d hope. More often than not they don’t get to that level without some sort of hard-earned knowledge to back them up. What worked once or a handful of times in the past will most likely keep working, with a few minor tweaks.

So, then it’s understandable that when any leader joins a new company they don’t want to waste time. They get stuck straight in and implement the changes they “know will work”. 

Let’s also call a douche a douche - a big part of this action plan is thinking they need to prove why they were hired at that level. Assert their authority and "intellect". I call it Ego!

If the above sounds familiar, let me fill you in on something. You may have had a bunch of goals for your first thirty days. Some you may have hit, some you didn't. But, the one achievement you will earn yourself, 100% guaranteed, is the dickhead badge. People in your team and very likely other leaders in the company will not be impressed.

The theme for my first thirty days when joining a new company at a leadership level is simple. 

Listen, question, absorb and then listen some more. 

I know they hired me because the existing department is not running well enough. There is a 99.9% chance that I will need to make some changes. The people in the organisation and my new team are also smart enough to know I am going to make changes. But, people hate change. It’s a fact.

So, instead of storming in like a hurricane I rather take the time to listen. Let the current team tell me their issues and current challenges. I listen and I take detailed notes. This way, when I start making changes I can reference the reasons for the change. And, more often than not, the team brought those reasons to my attention.

The next piece after all that active listening is gaining adoption.I don’t just tell them what, explain why. Every step of the way.Let me be clear here. You cannot run everything like a democracy. At some point, someone has to pull the trigger and make a decision. As the leader, this is going to be me. Again, the teams know I will be making changes. But, I give them a clear “why” and bring them along on the journey. This often surprises people.

I want to build trust as early as I can. By explaining "why" I get an added bonus along with trust. I ensure certainty by giving clarity. There will be little confusion around what needs to happen and when. This is good for everyone. Don’t underestimate open communication. It can be a powerful thing.

As a leader your goal, in the beginning, is simple. Get as many people on your side as possible. Then, the information you need to make the right decisions will flow in your direction.

Get rid of ego. Have some humility and use those pieces of cartilage on the sides of your head.

Peace, love and muscles.

JarrenThe Beginner CEO

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The Stoics on Listening“Acquire the habit of attending carefully to what is being said by another, and of entering, so far as possible, into the mind of the speaker.” Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 6.53

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