5 ways to escape your leadership echo chamber

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“Good leadership requires you to surround yourself with people of diverse perspectives who can disagree with you without fear of retaliation.”? - Doris Kearns Goodwin?

Ponder this…

The higher you go, the more likely you will find yourself surrounded by those who think like you and agree with your point of view. This issue is partially due to affinity bias, which leads us to unconsciously favor, associate with, and even hire those who feel most similar to us. While it may sometimes feel nice to have all your ideas supported, a lack of diverse perspectives is bad for business, stifling innovation and creating a leadership echo chamber. The problem is exacerbated by problem-solving methods that lead to groupthink and the difficulty of establishing psychological safety.?

Most leaders are aware of these forces and take steps to create a team culture that encourages candor and diversity, but subtle leadership behaviors can get in the way of their good intentions. To avoid getting stuck in an echo chamber, incorporate these five behaviors.?

Make it safe to speak up?

No matter how open and encouraging you are as a leader, chances are high that many of your people withhold valuable information, ideas, and concerns from you. A survey by McKinsey found that only 26 percent of leaders create psychological safety for their teams, indicating that leaders need to be more proactive in creating an environment where team members feel safe enough to share their thoughts.

Don’t expect your team to know you value their ideas through your actions; be explicit. For example, you might tell your team, “We all have blind spots, myself included. I need your help to see mine. I want you to question and disagree with me if you think I am off base.” Regularly repeat this request and follow up directly with your team members. Also, proactively ask your team for their ideas. Assure them they don’t need an ironclad case for every idea, so they know they don’t need to have all the answers before sharing their point of view.?

When people share a dissenting opinion or point out an error, publicly acknowledge and thank them. When your team sees that you respond to challenging comments with gratitude, it will encourage more fearful employees to speak up.

Nurture your curiosity?

Many leaders make the mistake of overly focusing more on results at the expense of relationships. This not only degrades trust, motivation, and engagement on your team but also cuts you off from valuable information. Instead, hold time and space for those you manage. If there’s no agenda for a one-on-one, don’t cancel it! Use the time to nurture your relationship, solicit feedback, and ask if there are any issues you should be aware of.?

When you interact with the other person, make sure you’re fully present, whether it’s a scheduled meeting or someone on the team asks you for five minutes. When you don’t listen well, you signal to the other person that what they have to say isn’t important. So, refrain from multitasking or giving in to other distractions.

If someone disagrees with or challenges your opinion, resist the urge to push back and adopt an attitude of curiosity instead. Confirmation bias can blind you to flaws or holes in your beliefs, so ask questions to understand their perspective better. A simple “Tell me more” can open the door to an insightful conversation.?

Practice “yes, and…”

“Yes, and…” is a technique used in improv comedy, designed to keep the ideas flowing, and it works just as well in business as it does onstage.

When you share ideas in a meeting and are met with a “no,” “but,” “however,” or “well, actually,” it can be incredibly frustrating. When it happens more than once, you’re less inclined to continue sharing your additional thoughts. If you do the same with your team, you shut down their potentially valuable contributions.?

Instead, try utilizing? “yes, and” to acknowledge and build on someone’s idea. You’ll help them feel listened to, considered, and encouraged to share ideas in the future, and you may stumble on a great solution.?

Speak last

You already know what you know. What you need to do is discover what others know. Build the habit of speaking last in meetings. Speaking last doesn’t mean being silent, it just means that you focus your initial comments on gathering and clarifying information through questions such as: “Why do you think that’s the right direction?”

Speaking last encourages your team to share their ideas and suggestions, helps them feel listened to, and boosts ownership and team morale. When you finally share your perspective, you will have the benefit of hearing what others know and think first.?

Actively seek diverse perspectives

If you’re not getting many differing opinions or styles of problem-solving, you’ll need to seek out these perspectives intentionally. For example, you could invite people from other parts of your organization to share their alternate views on a situation. You may also consider appointing a devil’s advocate to raise contrary evidence and take an opposing viewpoint. The point is to improve team decisions, not to encourage argumentativeness, so make sure the devil’s advocate attacks the ideas, not the people, and that they offer solid logic and alternatives.?

In the longer term, actively work against affinity bias in hiring by ensuring ample diversity in your panel of interviewers. This will help you to build a non-insular network with the diverse perspectives, values, and expertise you need.

Remember that actions speak louder than words

While your team pays attention to what you say, they are more tuned-in to what you do. You must be the change you ask of others. If you fail to “walk the talk,” you undermine your professed commitment. By modeling the behaviors you’re asking your team to display by sharing your feedback and ideas with your own superiors, you build trust in your message, and your team will be more likely to follow suit.?

Building these new habits will help you step outside the echo chamber, strengthening connections and communication with your team, encouraging fresh and creative perspectives, and enabling better decisions. Taking action isn’t easy, but it will be well worth the effort.

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