Listen What Needs to Be Heard

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We think about speaking up a lot but I don't think often we think about hearing well, especially if we're in a position of power, do we? That's right. We had a leader that tapped me on the shoulder as they sometimes do and this leader said to me, Megan, we've got a bit of a problem because those people over there, they're usually pointing at the middle managers or the junior employees, they're not speaking up more. Can you go and make them speak up? You're the expert. And off I went with my researcher hat on and I spoke to them... They said last time somebody spoke up round here, they disappeared. Right from that word

Megan Reitz: Speak Up Megan Reitz is Professor of Leadership and Dialogue at Hult International Business School where she speaks, researches, consults and supervises on the intersection of leadership, change, dialogue and mindfulness. She is on the Thinkers50 ranking of global business thinkers and is ranked in HR Magazine’s Most Influential Thinkers listing. She has written Dialogue in Organizations and Mind Time. She is a regular contributor to Harvard Business Review and her research has recently featured in Forbes, on the BBC, in TEDx talks, and in numerous academic and practice-based journals. Her latest research on employee activism was nominated for the Thinkers50 Breakthrough Idea Award. Her most recent book with John Higgins is titled Speak Up: Say What Needs to Be Said and Hear What Needs to Be Heard*. Many leaders consider what they need to do in order to speak truth to others, but rarely focus on how to make it easier for people to speak to them. In this conversation, Megan and I explore what leaders can do in order to hear what needs to be heard. We share several tactics that will make it easier for others to surface what you need to hear. Key Points Speaking up and listening up go hand in hand. Power always affects what gets said and what gets heard. A key checkpoint is whether or not you really value the opinion of others. Where you have conversations can make a massive difference on how comfortable the other party is in surfacing an important message for you to hear. Leaders who have margin in their daily schedules create space for the right moment to hear truth. Proactively invite challenge and debate through specific invitations. One example: “What do you know that I need to know, but will never be told?” Resources Mentioned Speak Up: Say What Needs to Be Said and Hear What Needs to Be Heard* by Megan Reitz and John Higgins Interview Notes Download my interview notes in PDF format (free membership required). Related Episodes How to Ask Better Questions, with David Marquet (episode 454) How to Speak Up, with Connson Locke (episode 546) How to Use Power Responsibly, with Vanessa Bohns (episode 551) Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic.