Who Are You Listening To?

There are so many voices coming at us right now. Literal voices at home, at work, from the media. There are also voices coming at us from all that we read. Some of these voices are unhappy, demanding ones. I’m sure all of us have had the thought, ‘if people from both sides are yelling at me, then maybe I made the right decision’. Even if that’s accurate it doesn’t make being yelled at any easier. Some of those voices are pleading and while the volume is often lower, such voices can be even more difficult. As a general rule, we want to help people who need help and often we can’t meet these needs.

If you spend any time on social media, you will read/hear the discontent of people across workplaces of all types and some of them are specifically calling out the work of higher education. Not too surprisingly, the voices we hear or read often want not only contradictory, but mutually exclusive answers. In something as seemingly simple (we thought in our innocence years ago) as wearing masks, we can’t make everybody happy. It’s not reasonable to try. Even if our goal is to do our best, it’s often difficult to figure out what ‘best’ is right now.

Which brings me back to the topic of today’s newsletter. There’s one thing we can do. Listen.

It doesn’t solve the thorny problems facing us, but one of the most powerful things we can do as a leader is to take the time to make sure people are heard. Listening well, truly listening with an open mind and open heart also creates the possibility that the listener will learn something new. Listening with curiosity not preconceived ideas about the issue opens the possibility for new ways of seeing problems, giving us the chance to be creative in working to make things better.

So, who are you listening to these days? Yes, there are all sorts of people who are demanding to be heard, but are you finding ways to listen to the people who aren’t so demanding? Are you able to find team members who are thoughtful critics, who have the pulse of the organization, who have information that the demanding voices don’t have?  Are you creating opportunities to find the unheard and listen to them?

When times are challenging or even simply busy, it is easy to fall into the trap of talking and listening to the same group of people, the inner circle, the trusted sounding board, the people who have easy access. It’s critical to create ways to find other groups to listen to.

I’m sure you each have ways you have done that over time, are you still? Do those ways bring in the same people and you need to try something new? Here are a few things I tried over the years beyond meeting with the usual groups like RAs, Student Government or by department:

• Coffee with the VPSA – twitter invitation sent out by multiple departments to invite students to visit.
• Create a short video about a topic (I’ve forgotten what we said) to win pizza lunch with me – that’s how I spent time with the drone club and a multicultural fraternity I’d never met with before.
• Cupcakes and Conversations – invite everyone in the organization whose birthday is in that month for a celebration with cupcakes and conversation with you.
• Same idea but divide the groups by start date through the year or seniority, anything that mixes people up. It gives colleagues a chance to talk with you and meet people outside their daily work.

The idea for staff groups mixed in different ways came from a newsletter I read years ago. The ideas for the student groups came from communication staff across the division. In other words, none of these were my ideas. Don’t be afraid to ask for help getting out and about.

One of the most important action a leader can take in challenging times is listening to the frustrations and ideas of the people we lead and serve. So, who are you listening to these days?

Take care,

Gage