How To "Lead Like You’re Blind"
Ron Johnson
Author | Keynote Speaker | Storyteller | Coach | I help turn HR professionals into "Bhranding Superheroes" Follow me for tips on how branding and HR can work together to build a stronger brand and a stronger business.
If you look closely enough, you can find business and leadership lessons in just about any environment – including the world of music!
I recently got the opportunity to listen to a presentation conducted by Dr. Eldon Blackman , as he was presenting to an audience of HR professionals. Dr. Blackman is a leadership coach who uses his experience and leadership lessons gained as a musician and conductor to bring harmony to organizations that are being challenged by leadership disharmony. During his presentation, Dr. Blackman shared his experience with a blind young lady who wanted to sing in one of the choirs that he was leading.
She walked in with dark shades and her arm interlocked with a friend who helped her to navigate the hall in which auditions were being held. When she informed Dr. Blackman that she wanted to join the choir, he said “yes”. Being blind, of course, doesn’t in any way influence a person’s vocal cords or their talent as a singer.
But, Dr. Blackman did have some concerns about how the young lady (let’s call her Sally) would fare, not being able to see his gestures and instructions to the rest of the choir. To his shock, once Sally joined the choir, she never missed a beat and integrated herself into the choir just as well as the other choir members. She always, always, started on cue along with the other choir members, and to use Dr. Blackman’s own words, “her voice never stood out” – which is actually a good thing. A choir’s strength is partially due to all members of the choir singing in unison in one voice. The last thing you want is to hear a lone voice that isn’t synchronized with the other members.
After a few rehearsals, Dr. Blackman mustered up the courage to open a potentially sensitive discussion and asked Sally how she was able to align her voice with the rest of the choir. Sally smiled knowingly as if she was wondering how long it would take Dr. Blackman to broach the topic. Then she replied, “Sir, I just listen to the breathing of the person on my left and on my right. When I hear them take a deep breath, I know you’ve instructed the choir to start singing”. Apparently, that wasn’t all Sally heard. By listening to the breathing patterns of the persons closest to her, she was able to appropriately and accurately adjust the level of her decibels when singing. Short breaths by her colleagues meant that the choir instructor was signaling for a softer decibel. Deeper breaths indicated that an increase in decibels was needed.
As Dr. Blackman wrapped up talking about his experience with Sally, he challenged the audience in front of him to “lead like you’re blind” – by listening closely to the (metaphorical) breathing patterns of those around them (including employees, customers, vendors and other stakeholders) and by appropriately adjusting their responses, actions and decibels based on the needs of the people around them.
Without a doubt, a common element of great leadership is the ability of leaders to really listen to those around them – starting with employees, then radiating outward to customers, vendors, investors and the wider public. Sticking with the musical metaphors for just a bit longer, these “Listening Leaders” use a range of tools to tune into the medley of conversations that are occurring all around them. To the untrained ear, this medley may, at first, sound like a cacophony of voices.? But, if you listen closely to the conversations taking place, you will soon be able to decipher and recognize every sound, from offkey expressions of disillusion to overt expressions of content. By fostering an environment where all stakeholders feel heard and valued, “Listening Leaders” can nurture a culture of transparency and trust, laying the foundation to enhance employee engagement, heighten customer experience, and strengthen financial stability and growth.
“Listening Leaders” use many tools to tap into the breathing patterns of their organization. They curate the best combination of these tools or “listening posts“ that are appropriate for their organizations’ size, industry, budget and other factors. Some of these tools are listed below.
There are several online platforms such as 15Five , Officevibe and WorkTango that allow employees to submit their ideas and share their experiences with their supervisors and recognize their peers for a job well done. These platforms create a digital trail that business leaders can follow directly back to the source of the experience being shared.
If you don’t have the budget for a digital listening post but still want the benefits of one, you can go the route of a free (but still effective) solution like WhatsApp to empower team members to share their experiences, stories and perspectives with their colleagues and leaders, and allow leaders to listen in to, and participate in, these conversations. Messaging app Slack also has a free version that is most suitable for small companies. If you outgrow the free version, you can opt to use one of the app’s paid plans.
If you’re looking for something with a more human touch, nothing beats well-planned, productive and highly engaged town hall meetings. If you have the type of culture where employees feel empowered to speak up and share their ideas and experiences freely, you can opt for regularly scheduled departmental or town hall meetings.
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If your organization has a much more casual environment and formal town hall meetings just aren’t your thing, you can use informal one-on-one huddles or unscheduled team huddles to ensure that you are up-to-date on the issues that matter most to your employees. This is a version of what many business leaders refer to as “Management by Walking Around”, where business leaders leave the “safety” of their office and hear for themselves what’s happening in all corners of the workplace.
Specialized tools like Brand 24 , BrandMentions , Hootsuite , Sprout Social , and Sendible offer a range of features that do a good job of identifying when your brand is being talked about online, ?and providing analytics and sentiment analysis which will allow you to track your online brand mentions and participate in the online conversation around your brand.
If your company has a website, one low-hanging “listening post” fruit could be to have your web developer set up a feedback page or a “contact us” page where customers can share their experiences about your brand.
Another way to collect information about your brand is to have an easily accessible customer experience hotline where, instead of filling out a form, customers can speak directly to a real live human! Many customers prefer this approach (compared to a feedback form) because it is more personal, and they can receive an on-the-spot reaction or response on behalf of the brand.
With the explosive rise in technology (especially Artificial Intelligence), it would be remiss not to include chatbots in this list. Chatbots are like digital assistants that are embedded into your website where customers can ask questions, receive support and even rate their experiences with your brand – all without leaving your website.
If you want to "lead like you'r'e blind, one of the first steps to take is to identify the best possible listening tools you can use to tap into the conversations taking place around your brand. It is only when you can accurately listen to the “breathing patterns” of your organization and your industry that you can take the necessary actions to respond appropriately and build a harmonious organization.
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