“If speaking is silver, then listening is gold.”
— Turkish Proverb
When I first launched Hunter Scott Executive Search, I was asked by a client what I was most excited about. My answer came naturally: setting goals and empowering those around me to achieve their goals.
One principle I have long adhered to, both internally and in advising clients I work with, is that successful CEOs and companies cultivate a culture inviting the next generation of leaders to challenge, collaborate and drive change. Suppose you would like to meet business objectives or achieve true change management. In that case, there is one essential ingredient that the next generation of leaders expect and need of you: the ability to listen.
Collaborative leadership has historically eluded many in the senior ranks because they climbed the organizational ladder in a different era. It used to be that CEOs employed a top-down, command-and-control approach. Before the pandemic changed so much of our work life, cracks in that model were already showing. COVID-19 drove wedges into those cracks to blow them wide open, hence the great resignation. CEOs today need to ask themselves some tough questions. If you are not practicing broad and deep inclusion, you risk closing the door to potential leaders in your company who can positively impact your strategy.
With that in mind, here are the driving philosophies I carry with me in my own company and when advising clients:
- No one person has all the answers. Companies have leadership teams and boards for a reason – there is power in numbers, especially during trying times. One person alone cannot shoulder the weight of challenges, nor do they want to. Lean on your colleagues, lean on the board, lean on whoever is there to support you. They will help you find answers and create change.
- Ask questions. If the going gets tough, know your leadership team are not waiting for you, the CEO, to give them answers or direction. They are waiting for you to ask them what direction the company should take. You will not develop a successful plan without asking the right questions. Those who ask the best questions are your next generation of leaders.
- Provide space to struggle. Every CEO should be providing a safe place to fail or falter. Asking for help shows respect for the team and respect for the enterprise. If they are comfortable asking for help, they will also feel accountable to the team.
- Have a plan. Team leaders in the organization should never be thinking, “I do not know where we are going.” Having both a short-term and long-term goal is critical. Agility to change the short-term plan as needed and asking the team how those changes could affect the long-term plan keeps everyone on the same page, invested and loyal.
- Tie those plans to your cultural values. An indelible culture against which you bounce projects and new ideas is essential. If the company’s values are not clear and embraced, the result for your team will be something like playing handball against a drape. Those who do not embrace the values will not last.
- Embrace difference. Gone are the days when managers are cut from the same cloth. There is not one defining personality trait that allows leaders to succeed. In my experience, the best leaders embody complex abilities and personas. Numerous studies and articles such as this find that the most influential leaders are quiet and not loud. Indeed, some research even suggests that introverted leaders can be up to 20% more likely than extroverts to listen to a good idea from others—resulting in a 24% improvement in results. But in my experience, the best leaders embody both ‘loud’ and ‘quiet’ competencies. They can handle contradictory ideas simultaneously. They showed both rational and emotional intelligence. It is this paradoxical expression of personality, and the resulting agility, that sets successful leaders apart.
- Encourage disruption. Organisations need leaders who are both disruptive and pragmatic, risk-taking and reluctant. Disruptive ideas must have a chance to breathe. Even if the whole idea is not implemented, pieces of it can be put into play. The team is better off, too, for evaluating and workshopping disruptive ideas.
A CEO who comes in on day one with all the answers and the strategy set in stone is not doing the most important job there is as a leader: listening to the team.
A critical component that I use day in, day out, and have done for over 15 years in my career in search has been the ability to listen. This skill was honed even further when I did the Professional Certificate in Executive Coaching at Henley Business School 4 years ago (I highly recommend this course – if anyone would like to know more, please reach out) and it brought to light the profound effectiveness of listening in a business environment. From a talent acquisition perspective, it is obvious when I discuss feedback with candidates after interviews which of the candidates had a positive experience; those who felt listened to. Just being listened to in an interview scenario can have a massive impact on attracting and securing the best talent.
It is never too late to hone your listening skills. In today’s environment, where remote working has stripped away the ability to pick up nonverbal cues from an in-person conversation, pausing and listening can be the difference between success and failure. Quite simply, employers who fail to listen and respond are destined to see more significant turnover, particularly among top performers.
In these challenging and turbulent times, it is safe to say that if your employees feel the objectives and values of the company reflect their own, that is when the magic happens; they come to work excited and energised. For me, that is as good as it gets.