Listening to Your Team is Critical to Success
Successful leaders rely on the talents, abilities and input of their team members. Bosses rely on themselves. Is there a difference — and does it really matter?
When was the last time you had a big decision to make and you involved your team members in helping to make the decision? Did you actually take their advice?
Better leadership means better listening
Many successful people find their way into the retail sales business. They have backgrounds in education, business, finance, and other industries. They’ve been managers and business owners, and they have a wealth of knowledge and ideas. Even those who have not worked anywhere else have much to bring to the table. Yet these assets are often overlooked due to ignorance, neglect and/or fear.
Why don’t leaders listen? A case study
I recently sat in on a “brain storming” session with a major OEM. The meeting included the Vice President of Sales, one of her Regional Directors and a National Manager. At the end of the meeting, the Vice President asked everyone to provide their thoughts on how the meeting went including the good, the not so good and any other ideas.
When it was her turn to address the group, the VP said that she was concerned that she may have taken too much control of the conversation and didn’t allow enough other people to share their ideas. What a concept! This was an example of true leadership!
The Weekly Brainstorm
Regardless of how smart you think you are, you are not the keeper of all knowledge or great ideas. So many things that could help you improve are just waiting to be unleashed from the minds of your people. So take advantage of it by having a weekly brainstorming meeting. Make it an open forum to discuss whatever is on the minds of your team.
To jump-start the discussion, print out one of our articles and read it aloud to the group. Then think of ways to improve our ideas, or come up with all new strategies that arise from the discussion.
