Go on (a Listening) Tour
One of the first things executives do when taking-on a new position is go on what's commonly referred to as a listening tour.
A listening tour is a discovery and learning exercise. It's an opportunity for the executive to talk to individuals at all levels in order to get a clearer picture of how the organization is running. It gives the leader a first-hand perspective of how work is done, the organization's strengths and where challenges or opportunities might exist. It also gives the leader an opportunity to build trust and relationships by taking the time to listen to people throughout the organization.
Listening tours carry a much larger scope than skip-level meetings. The executive is not just meeting with people who report to their directs. They're not even just meeting with people solely in their organizational chart. They're meeting with people in all parts of the company as well as people outside the company.
That's because the position of an executive requires them to see a broader landscape and stay more connected with others parts of the organization. The larger your role, the bigger your tour is likely to be. An initial tour could take 3-4 months, but really effective executives know that it's an ongoing exercise that is never truly finished.
While this is a common exercise for executives, it's one that many other leaders and managers further down in the organization could learn from. Being an effective leader means thinking about the big picture the way an executive would. Listening tours are a great place to start and they don't need to be reserved for new incoming leaders.
Here are a few of the considerations to make as you prepare for your listening tour, regardless of your level in the organization…
Consider the format
Before you start, consider the format and scale of this endeavor. Specifically, are you planning to meet with people one-on-one, in group sessions or a mix of both?
Group sessions are tempting because you can meet a greater number of people; however, there are trade-offs. A lot of people will be more guarded in group sessions which means the quality of the insight you receive won't be the same. Also, these group sessions are often used with front-line employees, which sends its own message that there is less value in meeting with front-line workers individually.
I prefer and recommend one-on-one sessions. You'll likely meet with less people, but this is not a check-the-box exercise where you're just trying to hit a specific headcount. We want meaningful feedback and insight and that's best achieved through individual conversations.
Go broad
Next, decide who you will be meeting with.
If you're just starting a new leadership position, you'll of course want to meet with your entire direct team. That would happen in the first week if not the first day.
If you report to a board, you want to meet with them as well. This is not a board meeting, these are individual meetings with each of the people on your board.
You'll also want to meet with each of your peers at your level (if applicable), along with the leaders of any department's that are a major stakeholder for your team.
From there, you begin to meet with representatives across the organization. Unless you have a smaller organization, you won't be able to meet with everyone. I recommend making the audience as diverse as possible. This means people at all levels and different positions. Don't make the mistake of focusing on those who you feel have more organizational influence. People in roles such as customer service reps, manufacturing line workers and building services should also be included.
Finally, you want to think outside of your organization. This would be people like investors, vendors, constituents, key customers, etc.
Share the purpose
How you communicate this exercise to your organization is also important. You want to be very clear about the purpose of this tour before you start meeting with people. Share that you are there to learn and understand; not to judge or grade anything.
I also recommend reinforcing that message when you first sit-down for these meetings. Employees can be a little guarded in these scenarios and consistently reinforcing the message that you are there to learn helps ease the tension for some.
Be sure that you've also shared with the individual's manager that you will be meeting with them, so that they're not surprised when they learn about the meeting from their direct.
Open Ended Questions
Once you're in the meetings it's important to stay true to the stated purpose that you shared when it was scheduled. That means focusing on actively listening without judging or making big sweeping changes.
A good way to do this is by asking open-ended questions. That is, questions that can't be answered with a simple yes or now. Instead of asking "do you have any suggestions" you could asking "what is your biggest frustration?". Other open-ended questions include "what's working well?" and "what would you focus your attention on in the first 90 days if you were in my shoes?".
Follow-up
Here is the finishing touch. After the meeting, you're going to leverage a common interviewing best practice and follow-up with a note to the individual thanking them for their time and insight. Email is perfectly fine here, though a hand-written note has a huge impact in these scenarios. I've seen these hand-written notes kept at an employees workstation for years after it was received.
If you had any takeaways from the meeting, such as finding an answer to a question or looking into a particular issue, the follow-up is a good time to address it. Even if you don't have it resolved, showing that you haven't forgotten about it helps carry your credibility.
With that said, you do want close that loop as quickly as you can. Even if the resolution is not a satisfying one. Let's say they made a process recommendation during your meeting. After looking into it, you've determined it's not feasible to implement. In this scenario, you need to follow-up with that update and ideally give as much as the "why" behind the decision as possible. A disappointing answer with a resolution is still much more favorable to the perception of unresolved empty promises.
This Week's Action Items:
Regardless of your role or tenure, begin planning your next listening tour to gain valuable insights into your business.
Ensure you are capturing as broad and diverse an audience as possible.
Use consistent messaging to be transparent about the purpose of these meetings.
Ask open-ended questions during the meeting to gain more effective insights.
Send a follow-up message after the meeting to thank them for their time and perspective.
