Andy Stanley once said, “Leaders who refuse to listen will eventually be surrounded by people who have nothing significant to say”.
This quote has a lot of relevance to the practice of continuous improvement and appreciation for diversity in skills and cultural backgrounds. Leaders should value and learn to truly listen to their employees. This includes their needs and ideas which shows respect for the individual. It also demonstrates their importance to the organization.
This idea is reflective of the PPT Framework. So, what’s a PPT Framework? As a term, people, process, and technology (PPT) refers to the methodology in which the balance of all three drives action. As standalone components, they are necessary for organizational transformation.
I’ve sat in meetings and heard leaders complain about employees who won’t speak up. These employees are often stereotyped and labeled as uncaring, unmotivated and lacking in passion. Instead of forming a biased opinion, these leaders should take the opportunity to reflect and ask how those people ended up that way. According to Bill Bradley, leadership is unlocking people’s potential to become better. In my opinion, listening is an important component to that end.
With gratitude,
Well said! At times, I find myself remaining silent because I witness that the ones who bite hard (who are loud-literally) tends to get the attention, but their actions are with little effort, when it comes to being productive.
I remain silent when I see that the leader(s) have already made up their minds or they are like the sign on the streets that says, “One-Way”. Therefore, I hold my thoughts.
Thanks for the feedback! I encourage you to find alternate avenues to share your ideas in the workplace.
I agree…Well said.