The name of this blog comes from our mission at INFLUENCE: “To empower people with clarity and confidence.”
Our objective is to provide brief but meaningful topics (under 500 words) that inspire, educate and empower leaders through resources both inside and outside of INFLUENCE. This week’s edition is provided by David Salmons.
Can you inspire? Do you? Inspiration is typically associated with effective leadership, yet 86% of employees believe their leaders are uninspiring, according to Gallup.
That’s particularly disheartening because inspiration creates intrinsic motivation, the inner drive to own situations and problem-solve solutions. One study even found that intrinsically motivated employees were over 30% more committed to their work.
Yet not every leader is naturally inspiring? What then? The answer may surprise you.
It turns out that inspiration isn’t all about charisma.
One way to inspire your team better is to listen better. That’s because individuals who believe they’re genuinely heard are over 4 times more likely to give it their all! Which makes a lot of sense. Employees given a voice in operations are more likely to perceive their efforts as meaningful and to act with accountability and ownership.
And this isn’t to say that every voice is equal, that every idea is implemented, or that whining is tolerated. Unfortunately, in some organizations there will be individuals who simply see themselves as victims and no amount of listening will change that. That, however, is a cultural issue, and as mentioned in other posts, leaders must both hire and fire for culture.
Instead, this is about listening to individuals who have ideas, input and perspectives that add value.
So how do you do it? As coaches, here’s a behavioral approach we recommend. When an employee has feedback:
- Give them 100% of your attention. Don’t interrupt. Doing so makes YOU the focus.
- Use their words when reflecting or clarifying.
- Tame your advice monster. Let them talk it out. Stay in curiosity.
- Ask questions to show you’re following.
- Thank them sincerely for their feedback and take action or pass on the feedback where appropriate.
While this list of behaviors may seem simple – and it is – studies have found that leaders sometimes perceive themselves as better at listening than they objectively are. Holding up this explicit behavioral lens then may help you develop practical listening skills that increase your employees’ intrinsic motivation as you grow your ability to inspire as a leader.
If this isn’t your typical approach to listening, why not give it a try? The ear of leadership may provide the increase in motivation, commitment and ownership your team needs.