Behaviors Never Lie
Heard a great statement a few weeks back that really got me thinking. “Behaviors Never Lie”. I get the chance to work with amazing company owners all over the country, Often it seems there is some frustration with the team and their results. As we begin to work together for several months, I begin to see a disconnect between behaviors and words. Often time, the owners are saying the right things but their behaviors are sending a completely different message.
I recently had the opportunity to work with the leadership team of a growing company on the east coast. As we worked through our quarterly review session we decided that the leadership team needed to engage the team members with more questions and challenge the team members to think solutions first. It was a very powerful moment and somewhat of a cultural break through. When I recently did some follow up work I discovered that the top management began to push back on suggestions and solutions the teams had been working on. Here is the killer statement, the team members asked their boss, “If they are just going to reject or change our solutions, why do we even bother thinking solutions first?” WOW! Crushing result.
We in leadership and management must be very careful with what we are asking of our team while not behaving in line with our words. 7 Habits of Highly Effective People reminds us to “seek first to understand, then to be understood.” If we don’t fully agree with the solution, let’s spend some time asking the manager or team to explain their process and maybe ask good questions that may lead to a better solution while still allowing them the ownership and satisfaction of doing a good job and helping their company as well as their team.
We in leadership and upper management need to become much more aware of what we are saying and how we are saying things. We want to inspire and encourage not create obstacles, road blocks and frustration. Your team can crush it if we allow them to. Let’s make sure our behaviors match our words!!