There’s a saying, “Communication takes two:  one to speak and one to listen.” This said, in a busy environment, it can be tempting to become a “command and control” manager – one who just focuses on making decisions and telling others to execute instead of a “communicate and collaborate manager” – getting feedback, communicating direction, and aligning a team.

Dale Carnegie said, “People support a world they helped create.” I believe he’s right. 

At Intertech, we’ve institutionalized listening.  Our “Town Hall” is an example.  Once a year, all the employees convene for a half-day Town Hall.  At the Town Hall, partners and management are absent.  The Town Hall is lead by one of the employees.  They discuss questions like “What’s a hassle (something that wastes time or is clumsy for you, a teammate, or a client?”, “What’s something that we’re not addressing or discussing because it’s uncomfortable but should be?”, and “What’s an effective way to get additional talent or customers that we could be doing but aren’t?”

After the Town Hall, the facilitator shares the anonymous feedback/consensus in a face-to-face meeting with the leadership team.  This information is then used by the leadership team in our two-day yearly strategic planning session.

Coming up:  Organizational awareness