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Author: Shona Garner

Why the World's Highest Performing Managers Talk Less and Listen More.

Copyright © 2009 Shona Garner

Before you became a manager, you may well have spent much of your time listening to those above you, telling you what to do and how to do it. Now you're the boss - you think it's your turn to do the talking while your minions listen! But just because that's the way it's been done in the past, doesn't mean it's the most effective way to bring out the best performance in people!

Have you ever felt undervalued at work?

Have you ever said, "They, (meaning management) just don't listen"?

Have you ever felt a lack of genuine interest in you, your ideas or your opinions?

How did that make you feel?

Having been there - I know it made me feel both resentful and frustrated. Worse, it meant my attitude to work changed. Instead of giving my all, it was a case of doing just enough to keep out of trouble. As a coach, working in all sorts of organisations, I've seen everything ranging from passive apathy to full-blown conflict; much of which could have been avoided altogether with some truly simple communication strategies in place.

Now you're a manager - what can you do to increase staff engagement, motivation and performance? Learn to listen more effectively!

Become a pro-active listener!

What do we mean by being a "pro-active" listener? Pro-active listening means finding ways of building in listening opportunities with your staff, rather than waiting for the more usual, expected occasions, such as formal meetings or appraisals. It means being willing to invest some time "up-front" in developing relationships with each team member, in order to ulitmately save time through reduced conflict born out of misunderstandings or feelings of being undervalued.

Large scale studies into managers who had the most effective, high-performing teams have shown the following behaviours will pay you back in spades:

- Develop a routine which enables you to touch base regularly with your staff, even for just 10-15 minutes. This conversation is for no other reason than to get to know them a little better, and to ask general questions such as how they feel about their job, what's going well for them, what they find challenging, what would they like more of/less of , and maybe find out just a little more about their lives outside work, their interests etc It is not an opportunity to discuss performance - particularly underperformance!

And just a quick point worth mentioning here too. Ensure you set aside this time with all your staff 'even those you may find difficult or demanding! Seeking out only those you get along well with is a recipe for disaster and will likely come back to haunt you!

- Give 100% of your attention to an employee if they approach you with an issue - regardless of how busy you are. That doesn't mean you drop something you're doing which is really urgent, but it does mean ensuring you explain the situation and agree a time when you will be able to give them your full attention - and then honour that commitment.

- Have regular, open, non-threatening discussions about performance, in which you ask open questions about how they feel they are doing, then shut up and listen! Any actions which arise from these are acted upon. However, these discussions are informal, and not an occasion for formal recording.

Do not wait until the end of year appraisal to have a discussion about performance.

- Go out of your way to give immediate feedback for work well-done as well as for issues of underperformance, and ensure your staff have an opportunity to talk about their experience before you jump in with your views! Even a brief e-mail, or telephone call, with a note of congratulation can have a profound impact on an employee's motivation.

So, for example, you might say, "You've been getting some fantastic feedback from customers recently, which is just great to hear. What do you think has made you so successful?" If it's an issue of underperformance, you might say: "What's the biggest challenge for you right now?" or, "I've noticed you seem a little uncertain about x; tell me what you think about this"

You'll have time to say your piece later - but asking them first, and genuinely listening to their reply has a profoundly powerful impact on how the rest of the conversation will go - believe me!

- Show genuine interest in what others say to you; and that means good eye contact, nodding, paying attention, and watching your body language and theirs so it "matches". If you've never been trained in some of the nuances of communication, make it part of your ongoing personal development to learn a little more about how to utilise body-language and voice to more effectively influence and persuade others.

The bottom line is, people like to feel they are more than just another employee. Short, apparently ad-hoc, but regular conversations, which future focus, which show interest and offer encouragement are much better than stilted, longer, formal sessions and will bring massive rewards in terms of enthusiasm and motivation from your people.

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