Give questions, not answers
The quickest way to get employees pointed toward your desired outcome is to simply tell them how to get there. But Russell has learned that the best way to rally his troops is to take the time to guide them toward the answer — not just hand it down as an edict.
“There is a cliché, old-school style of pound the fist on the desk and demand results and yell and scream,” he says. “It might get people to jump for a little while, but ultimately, it generates a lack of respect that, in the long run, doesn’t work toward good results.”
Like many others, Russell has reported to those leaders in the past. Before you even finish explaining the problem, they start spouting their solution.
A more motivating approach requires not just a patient ear but actually engaging in a two-sided dialogue. After you discuss their ideas, take time to explain your own.
“Listening is engaging people in the process,” says Russell, who takes the same disciplined approach when making family decisions at home.
Even if you don’t adopt employees’ ideas, you can still achieve agreement. Focus your efforts on bringing them on board with the direction you do take.
“It’s certainly easier just to say, ‘Well, I’m the boss. We’re going this way,’” Russell says. “Then they may not be fully engaged behind the idea.”
Employees want to be involved in the creation of a solution — even if it’s your solution, not theirs. To get their buy-in, give them questions instead of answers. Approach it like a gentle debate, presenting information and counterarguments to help them see a perspective other than their own.
Russell, who doesn’t like the connotations of conflict carried by the term “debate,” thinks of it more as a realization process.
“Obviously, turning back to them and saying, ‘OK, so what do you want to do about this?’ is a good thing to do,” Russell says. “[Ask,] ‘Have you thought about it this way?’ Bring up points that they may not have thought about.”
Of course, you won’t have to personally lead each employee to a revelation. While some of them are conditioned to present an issue and immediately ask for direction, others will offer their own suggestions without a nudge. In those cases, you’ll just serve as a sounding board while employees arrive at the solution unassisted.
Regardless of how involved you are as a guide, the sequence should always be the same: Listen first; talk second.
“Generally, I try and give people the opportunity to chime in [and] give their idea before I give mine,” Russell says. “You’re anxious to move on to other things but spend the time to listen to people. The biggest reason is it motivates them. It empowers them.”
