The best leaders listen

My eight-year-old daughter came home from school today with a funny story. When she boarded the bus to go to her after-school program, she was greeted by a new bus driver. She took her seat, and assumed she would be joining her friends soon making arts-and-crafts, and completing homework. Today, however, this was not to be.

You see, the bus driver had forgotten one important part of the route. When it came time to turn into the parking lot for her after-school program, the bus driver drove right through the light (I've been told the light was green), and continued down the street. The kids on the bus know this route. Many of them have been riding the same route for years. Such cannot be said for the bus driver who had never driven this route before.

The kids on the bus called out to the bus driver that she had just passed their stop. "Back at the light", they said. "Stop", they hollered. "Turn around", they begged. But the bus driver would not, could not listen. I'm sure some of the kids were naughty, and some were probably nice. What they all had in common is that they knew what they were talking about. I'm sure she is a good bus driver, but she did not know this route.

So the bus drove on, dieseling down the road. Over the next 15-30 minutes (eight-year-olds have an inconsistent sense of time) the other kids were successfully dropped off at their designated stops. At the last stop, the bus driver told my daughter and the other remaining kids, that they too needed to get off the bus. Fortunately, the kids stuck together, and told the driver they would not, could not get off the bus because this was not their stop. While I will not repeat the conversation here, the ensuing discussion got pretty spicy and I learned about my daughter's comprehensive understanding of words I did not know she knew! Fun isn't the only word that starts with the letter F!

By this point, the after-school program had called the bus company and the bus company called the driver, asking about the now missing kids and if everything was alright. I know this because my daughter heard the conversation, since there weren't many kids left on the bus and the driver used her speakerphone.

Did our protagonist bus-driver admit their mistake?

No, of course not! This is 2024! Most leaders today only pretend to be informed by data and information. Our protagonist drove the kids back across town, to their after-school program, insisting the whole way that this was the new bus route and that the kids should all be quiet. After-all, she has a CDL and they do not (this assertion, at least, is correct). My daughter missed out on today's arts-and-crafts activity and I suppose I'll be having another conversation with the nice people at the district transportation office. Fortunately, she is safe and has a hilarious story.

The sad part is, the bus driver's unwillingness to listen feels all too familiar to me. Although I'm in a good place today, I've had plenty of experience as the kids in the back of the bus. Some bus drivers assume their passengers don't know the route just as many so-called leaders assume data-science staff are just Pointdexters who couldn't possibly understand the context of our analysis/work.

Sigh.

The best leaders, and bus drivers, listen to those with more experience. Had our protagonist bus driver listened, my daughter might have been able to make cut-out snowmen this afternoon. Frosty the snowman is a fairy tale they say. And in far too many companies, executives who genuinely listen to their staff are fairy tales for kids. I pursued a career in data science to use math, science, and computer know-how to make things better. I pursued this career to improve the delivery of services. I had hoped there was some magic in the ability of numbers to guide us towards better decisions. But that dream often melts when the sun comes out. I don't want to make you cry, I still believe the dream is possible. Sadly, my experience is that many leaders wave goodbye to data which does not fit their preconceived notion of the truth.

Lately, I've been working within a team which values my input and we've made some real progress streamlining workflows and fixing problems which have festered for years. I, the Pointdexter, listen to my stakeholders. And they, in turn, listen to me. End result? Progress. Timely, accurate data can drive good decision making. Unfortunately, it can just as easily be ignored.

Listening does not mean agreeing blindly. I don't always agree with my stakeholders and they don't always agree with me (until I convince them, of course). Listening means thinking critically about what others are saying, and not disregarding them because they are young, nerdy, or don't hold a CDL. School bus drivers and corporate leaders alike, should listen to the people they are driving around. Otherwise, they both wind up down the road with a bunch of ticked off kids and a lost opportunity to use data to change the world.

Ears can only hear. Leaders listen.

#leadership #listen