The Eyes and Ears of a Leader

This series uses the body as a metaphor for key leadership skills that are important during change.. Each body part provides a new filter for key leadership questions, that when answered, help you to be a better leader. Below are all of the body parts that the series addresses. Part 1 covers the Eyes and Ears of a leader.

Eyes:See the vision; see the future in the present

Ears: Listen carefully to what the needs are, and act

Nose: Sniff out opportunities, build relationships

Mouth: Your organizations voice, communication

Neck: Don't be a stiff neck, be flexible

Heart: Value driven mission

Shoulders: Bear the responsibility, coping

Brain:Thinking clearly, thinking strategically

Hands: Be a servant leader

Legs: Walk the talk, be congruent

Stomach: Guts, courage, risk taking

Eyes

Do you have the eyes of a leader? The future may seem completely unknown. Yet, if you think about it, there are many clues about the future in the present. A leader with excellent eyes is able to see the patterns, trends and data in the present that will indicate a certain future.

Demographic data tells us that when the baby boomers grow old, 75% of the adult population will be elderly, and in need of care. Medical advancements will be keeping us alive longer. One research organization predicts that our hotels that are so important in meeting our present leisure needs today, will be meeting our elderly housing needs tomorrow. This trend will have implications on our health care, government, jobs, and economy.

A "helicopter perspective", rather than the "grain of the wood" perspective is needed to be able to identify patterns and trends. In a helicopter, you hover high above the ground and can see the terrain below for miles. Hovering is important, because it allows time for you to study the patterns and trends. The "grain of the wood" perspective is when we get so entrenched in the concerns of our own organization, it is as if our noses are pressed against the table and all we can see is the grain of wood. While keeping your eye on the details of your organization is important, you can't properly lead your organization into the future without an accurate picture of the future of the community need, political leanings, trends in the field and impact of social issues on your organization.

The non-profit sector trails the business sector in paradigm changes by about 10 years. The Total Quality Movement hit the for profit sector in the 1980's. "Our products are human beings", we would say, "You can't measure outcomes when you are working with human behavior." Guess what the referring agencies are asking for now? Measurable Outcomes. The business sector was the first to begin to flatten the organizational chart, the first to experiment with partnerships and mergers. Welcome to the 21st Century, non-profit leaders. We have the advantage of learning from the trials and tribulations of the for-profit sector in these matters.

Make the vision crystal clear. If the employees can see it, they'll know what they can do to help achieve it.

For your organization to have a clear vision, it must answer some key questions:

1. What is happening today (in your community, politically, in your field, in your service area, demographically, etc) that will have a direct impact on your organization in the future?

2. What is the ideal future vision of your organization in the next five years?

3. What are the implications of this future on your organization? What services, programs, skills, markets, and relationships do you need to build or strengthen to be prepared for this future?

Ears

Are you a good listener? This may be tougher than you think. We all have filters. Sometimes we simply, unconsciously, block out information that we don't want to hear. The excellent leader is able to listen for information that goes against his or her own set of thoughts and beliefs, receive the information and act on it if necessary.

We can't forget that people are first human, and then taskmasters. Organizations are political, sometimes irrational systems. Listening to the pulse of the organization will give us so much information about the climate or the will of the organization to come along with a changed direction. David Nadler devotes and entire chapter to the concept of "Winning Hearts and Minds" in his book Champions of Change. He stresses the importance of recognizing the human elements of fear, anxiety, stress, power and control as factors for helping or hindering the leadership of change.

In Alan Drexler and David Sibbet's "Team Performance Model", featured in TeamBuilding, which I use often in my consultations, they break down the steps of team development. The first two steps are "Who am I" and "Who are you". In the "Who am I" stage, each person is wrestling with their own purpose and relevance in the team and the primary need is to feel comfortable and oriented, feeling that they have something to contribute. The second stage, "Who are you" addresses the issue; what will this group expect from me? Will I be able to deliver on their expectations? Both of these stages are very human. They are not task oriented but address the very human issue of "fit". So much of the role good listener is acknowledging the human side of people at work.

Organizations often get into trouble when they ask for staff input, then either disregard it out of hand, set up too high of an expectation for response to the feedback, or simply miss the message of the feedback entirely. A connection with the workers' viewpoint is necessary to true communication. As a leader, you must meet the staff where they are, and then carry them along. If you don't stop to listen where they are, you can't possibly meet them and move them further. Make sure that the staff knows that you are listening by regularly finding opportunities to say, "this is what we heard and here is how we are responding".

Some questions to consider when assessing your organizational hearing are:

1. Do you ask your stakeholders for feedback on unmet needs and about your programs and services? Do you ever improve anything as a result of direct feedback?

2. Is your client satisfaction survey process more than a 'feel good' assessment? Does it give you any real information about how effectively you are achieving your objectives and meeting the needs of your clients and consumers?

3. Do you allow your staff to vent their true feelings, fears or concerns about changes you are making in the organization? If so, what happens next?

Check out Part 2 where we will examine the Nose and Mouth of a leader.

I hope that this series has been a helpful filter for you as you examine your strengths and weaknesses as a leader. If you didn't catch the rest of the articles, here is a brief overview of what they covered:

Part 1: The Eyes and Ears of a Leader
Part 2: The Nose and Mouth of a Leader
Part 3: The Neck and Heart of a Leader
Part 4: The Shoulders and Brain of a Leader
Part 5: The Hands, Legs and Stomach of a Leader