Marc Haine argues leaders should run genuine listening tours instead of relying on surveys or quick check-ins. When staff raise concerns, avoid getting defensive. Real listening means actually hearing what people say, not performing engagement.
So I know that we are really, really busy, and I encourage leaders to stop and to talk to their people and listen. In fact, we say go on a listening tour, and do not confuse that with a defend yourself tour, because when your staff tell you what is wrong or worrisome or what they would change if they had a magic wand, a lot of times that leader wants to say, well, I'm working on that, but, but, but, you know, there's other things going on that are higher priority. And so just go put yourself in their shoes. Just listen to your people and try to glean what you can, not just through an employee survey. Those are great, but that's not the be-all end-all. You also have to just go have conversations and try to avoid what I call the drive-by check-ins, which is, hey, Marc, how's your first week going? Yeah, everything good? All right, we'll see ya. I gotta head to this meeting, but hey, you holler if you need me.
