How will you allow people to trust you and share their feelings?
The best part of being a leader is hearing how the people of the organization wish to grow. The second-best thing is listening to the frustrations they have professionally and personally. It does not take a lot of effort to just lend a sympathetic ear. As far back as I can recall, I always had friends asking for advice or sharing their frustrations with me. I enjoy assisting them with their struggles and being their sounding board for ideas they have. The best part is, they trusted me. As we lead, we must never forget the importance of allowing our people to have the freedom to speak to us honestly and without fear. Are you listening to your people with a leader’s ear?
Sometimes, listening is hard. As leaders, we will experience moments where our people are frustrated and angry at us or a situation. Strong leadership allows those individuals to vent those feelings without judgment. On other occasions our people will over share their worries. Health or family issues come into conversations, and it is important that the leader makes themselves available to listen with compassion. We must proceed with caution too. When someone comes to us with an issue, they are not always looking for us to solve it. Many times, all they needed was a place to unload their feelings. Allowing people to vent in such ways helps the overall atmosphere of the organization. The most respected leaders are happy to listen and even hear the frustration people have regarding their leadership decisions. This is the most difficult part of leadership; hearing how you may have failed or offended someone. It is important that we are confident in our leadership and listen carefully with our leader’s ear.
What steps will you take to build trust within your organization?
What is the overall feeling or climate in your office area and is it a safe space?
Are you strong enough in your leadership to hear critical conversations about you?
Listening to those around us and allowing them to share helps build outstanding organizations. People must trust their leadership and we can foster that trust through our ability to listen with compassion. I hope you have built that trust, and you are helping people through your listening. Thank you for looking in on Leading Conversations this week and I hope your week is outstanding. Please leave a comment below that will add to this conversation.
Steve Bucks~ Leading Conversations and Leadership Coaching
~Maxwell Leadership Certified Team Member~
