Podcast, Season 2, Episode 8: Lessons On Leadership From the Life and Times of Ezra (part 8 – What Do You Hear?)
In my thirty years of life and experience in leadership roles in Christian organizations, there are leadership lessons that I learned (and continue to learn) from the life of ministry to which God called me. Over that time, He taught me lessons based on stories, principles, and truths from the Bible that have been translated into personal application. This particular series of articles focuses on a set of those lessons drawn from the book of Ezra in the Old Testament, the same lessons that I have published in my latest book. This week, in part 8, I am discussing one of several lessons on the practice of leadership, this is about the important of giving people a voice and letting them be heard. Here is the transcript of the podcast.
In this series we are diving deeper into principles and practices that connect biblical truth with wisdom and applying them to the practice of leadership. The purpose of the series, and of the website as a whole, is to connect faith, wisdom, and leadership in a way that will help you grow in your leadership and make an impact. That starts with realizing that God has a plan and purpose that can be trusted, whether or not we can visibly see His hand in it, and He has a part for us in this purpose.
We then spent 3 weeks laying the groundwork for effective leadership, using the analogy of the starting blocks in a race, when all the runners line up and get into position, and the starter yells, “On your mark, get set, go!” The first command, “On Your Mark,” was all about getting to the starting line and in the right place by getting yourself into the right frame of mind and equipping yourself for what is coming. Aligning yourself with truth by seeking and knowing God and knowing where He has placed you, and by establishing your foundational beliefs and values, gives you the capability to lead. The second command, “Get Set,” was all about getting into position in the right form, so that you are best prepared to start well. Performing the actions that set you up to be followed and trusted involves living your life so that your actions and behaviors reflect those beliefs, and that gives you the credibility to lead. The final command, “Go,” is when the starter’s pistol goes off and you start running. That’s when your work begins as you start leading your people and your organization toward your mission, vision, or change. This is hard work and therefore requires someone who is both capable and credible, and that’s why this step must follow the other two. But with those things in place, the race is underway, and what follows are the things you do to maintain your race. We have already talked about the importance of the ability to see the big picture as one of those things, and today we are discussing the important of giving people a voice in the process
Earlier in my marriage, my wife and I had moved to a new state for a new job, and I was trying to establish myself in this new organization. It’s helpful to know that I am an introvert by nature, and I tend to process my thoughts internally. How this manifested itself is illustrated by my tendency in leadership meetings almost everywhere I have worked. There will be a topic or agenda item on the meeting list, and the group will have a healthy and robust discussion all around this topic, and the whole time I am listening to what everyone is saying, thinking about the implications of what they are saying, and putting them in the context of the situation. Toward the end of the discussion, I will finally share the conclusion of thoughts. Usually, the response is something like, “Jeff, I think you’ve captured the right idea and plan.” In my experience, some people say something out loud then talk about it as part of their thought process. I think about it in my mind first, and then say something out loud.
That is a great skill for decision-making and analysis, but it also has it’s flip side, which my wife helped my learn. In this new organization and new position, I was meeting with some employees who were expressing their concerns and ideas. I was sitting with them, and my mind I was attentively listening to what they were saying while I was carefully processing. When they were done and left meeting with me I continued to think and process, so that I could determine the best response and course of action. By the time I got home, however, word had already reached my wife that I didn’t listen to them. I was frustrated and was explaining to my wife that I was listening and thinking while they talked, and she said, “Jeff, they didn’t know you were listening because you didn’t say anything. And because they didn’t know you were listening, they interpreted that you were not.” Then she said, “If you give people a blank page, they will write their own story.” You see, because I gave no outward sign or indication, they felt like they had not been heard and did not have a voice in the situation. And I had a mess to clean up.
The reality is that people want to have a voice in the circumstances of their lives. Those circumstances include their jobs, which should matter to you. Remember that they are typically the ones who experience the effect of your decisions, and see how it is lived out around them. They have knowledge of what has worked and what has not. They see how things are received. And they care about what is happening, so they want to be able to speak up and feel like they have been heard. Therefore, it is vital that you foster that kind of environment.
You need to make sure that people have a voice and feel heard. Those are two sides of this important topic. The first is that you need to give them the opportunity and a forum to speak up and share what they have to say. But that’s only one side. You also need to respond with your words and act visibly in a way that communicates that you heard what they had to say. They are not usually speaking just to hear their own voices, but because they believe they have something important to contribute, and they want to know that you really heard their meaning and intent.
The bottom line is that you need to give people an opportunity to speak, and make it safe for them to do so (that’s another lesson, because if they don’t feel safe, you won’t get them to say anything). Find ways to let them share. Then respond back in ways that show them you heard them. And finally, act in a way that shows you took what they had to say and valued it. When you do that, people will feel like they have a voice.
