Valuing Others

I was emailing with a former client last week to thank him for referring Leadwell to a school looking for a strategic planning consultant. He replied, "I've been around the block a number of times with consultants and the experiences haven't always been positive.  You're the best I've ever partnered with."  Wow. That blew me away.  It got me thinking about why. Then, this morning, an executive coaching client was grappling with how to best do a reduction of force (RIF) process (i.e. laying off workers). No leader wants to do RIFs. These two things have me thinking about what may be one of the most important components of work - whether you're a boss, a team member, a consultant, or a client.  VALUING OTHERS.

I'll get on my soap-box for a moment. What do I mean when I say, "valuing others"?  What I mean is truly listening. I mean understanding where they are coming from and asking  whether you are hearing them correctly. I mean asking them what matters to them  - often - as it can change quickly.

It means asking what they need, and then asking if what you provided was what they needed. Then, asking, "What do you need now?" It's not attaching yourself to what YOU think matters to them or what YOU think they need. It's believing them when they tell you. (If you want to try something you think they may need that they aren't seeing or saying, you can always say, "I think you might need X. What do you think about that?")

Now, what does this have to do with the leader who was grappling with the best way to handle RIFs? She was stuck in the binary of should we (the COO and CEO) make the decision of who to cut or should the managers. She wants a process that empowers the managers and builds their investment, as they will have to attend to team culture and figure out how their teams will absorb the work. So I asked her, "What do the managers want? Do they want to make the decisions, or do they want you to?" The lightbulb went off for my client. She needs to ask each manager (it's a reasonable number, I think no more than five) and design a process with each one that empowers them and builds their investment. Each RIF may be handled differently. That's what valuing someone looks like!

I don't know exactly what my former client meant when he said "You're the best I've ever partnered with." but my hunch is that we delivered what they needed because from day one until the last day we never stopped asking them about what they needed and whether what we delivered was what they needed. My hunch is that they felt valued and the work showed them that they were.

As you embark on whatever is in your work orbit next, Leadwell hopes you'll consider how you can value others along the way.

In partnership,

Jodi (and Christina)