by Johna Campbell on July 7, 2011
One of the most underutilized development and communication tools is: Silence. Sounds crazy, right? Stop and think about it. (Insert silence as you have a chance to think….)
As leaders, we often think that it’s our job to ask the questions, solve problems and provide direction. However, moving forward quickly and offering answers can halt individual development. The easiest answer is often the one that we give to our employees when we simply answer their question without engaging them in the process. While this is tempting as it’s efficient, the result is that we answer the question again and again, which hides the true cost of providing an answer without engaging in a learning process. There is so much more learning that occurs when employees think through problems and challenges to come up with answers – or other questions. This is where the development comes in.
The next time one of your employees comes to you with a question, consider how you might help them find the answer. Perhaps you can ask a question that will allow them to begin to unlock the answer that they will own. And this is where silence comes in…. Ask the question and allow silence to sink into the room so that they can think. Consider allowing 20 – 30 seconds before you give more help.
There are several benefits to this approach: when the problem is solved with their answer, they own it and will help to ensure it works, and they learn because they had the opportunity to use their brains.
The good news – you have to do less work, if they come up with the right answer – or one of several right answers. The bad news, you may have to coach more when they come up with a wrong answer.
Try letting silence and your employee do some of the work!
by Johna Campbell on June 23, 2011
As I consider a training session I’m working on for a trip to
Kyrgyzstan with
Legacy International on conflict management, I referred back to the fellow that I believe is the absolute most sensible management guru: Tom Peters. (BTW – I love his book
The Little Big Things: 163 Ways to Pursue EXCELLENCE, which made me feel like Tom was reading to me, giving me hints on management and life in general.)
Think for a moment about that interaction that just didn’t feel right. Someone was
left feeling uncomfortable, holding the proverbial bag, a bit of a chip on
his/her shoulder, win/win turned into win/lose. One person walked away thinking
– this is one situation that I’m not going to forget. (And they don’t mean that
in a good way.) Worse yet, they may be thinking – wait until the shoe is on the
other foot, turnaround is fair play!
Tom suggests that we avoid letting mistakes fester and make that “three-minute
call” today! You know the call he’s talking about… It’s the call that you make
to smooth things over, deal with the issue, take another look at a situation,
seek a win/win solution, assess the damage so that you can minimize concerns
and issues. He says to do it sooner rather than later and suggests making this
call every day. While I have made my share of three minute calls in my
lifetime, I struggle to think that I would need to make one every day. On the
other hand, surely it is something that I should consider everyday and get to
those calls that need to be made! How about you?
It’s all about relationship building and mending fences. Relationships make the
world go round. When they are strong, we can achieve anything because of who’s
on the team. Your team includes all those who help you in large or small ways
to succeed in your mission!
One of the most underutilized development and communication tools is: Silence. Sounds crazy, right? Stop and think about it. (Insert silence as you have a chance to think….)
