I coach organizations on one of the simplest, most inclusive tactics available to organizations everywhere: the question. A question is a direct invitation. Inherently, it makes us feel seen and recognized, it welcomes our input and our voice. Organizations have become disconnected from this power. The practice of employee listening has shifted into a flailing priority list of things communicators and leaders are caught up trying to share and communicate. We’ve lost touch with the power of this little exchange that makes human relationships go around. And human relationships are the complex web that helps organizations thrive and hum.
“People forget that business relationships are, in fact, relationships. And if you don’t understand people, you don’t understand business.” – Simon Sinek
Employee listening has now been relegated to a data-gathering exercise. It’s thought of as a transaction. The organization “asks” and employees “give.” But every question is a targeted exchange. It conveys agenda, focus, purpose, and intent–by the asker. When we ask questions, we’re shaping a future space; we’re shaping possibilities around a focus–together.
Employee Listening, by an Outsider
In focus groups I’m facilitating, I’ve always found employees quite interested in being compassionately and deeply heard by someone outside of their organization. I’m seen as objectively and someone who can finally hold presence with them. Sometimes that simple exchange of being heard is enough. But more often, the exchange of time and presence often plants seeds that create change champions and advocates. Commonly they seek out next steps: when will my feedback be acted on? How and who will determine if my input will create positive change for the organization? How will my comments be shared (in aggregate with no attribution, I always say)? It’s not a perfect system but usually commenters are protected if an organization is large enough.
It might be worth re-considering, what are we really initiating when we ask questions? And what might be lost when we skip that human-to-human step of connection and instead use personas or AI to simulate the exchange?