In a Crisis, Lead With Your Ears (John Newman Commentary)

Do you ever think, “He knows what to do. Why doesn’t he just get it done?”

I have heard too many consultants complain, “I gave them great advice, but what can I do if they don’t act on it?” Turnaround situations are different. It is a crisis, and there is no time for advice. Action rules. If you move too slowly you risk losing the patient on the operating table.

A few weeks ago I was counseling Charles, the owner of a local restaurant chain, about his business’ problems. After an hour or so, we began to discuss their College Avenue location, as it was doing poorly, while others were doing okay. I asked a few questions, not knowing where they would lead:

“What makes a location successful?”

“Well, two things, mostly. The staff, and the quality of the food.”

“And what makes for good food?”

“Well actually, now that you mention it, it’s the staff.”

I followed with, “Hmm. How well does your manager do in leading her people?”

“Terrible,” Charles said. “We’ve asked people from other locations to transfer to College Avenue and had them refuse. They won’t work for her.”

We both paused. Charles nodded, let out a short laugh, shook his head, turned up his hands in exasperation, and said, “How could I have not seen it?”

Then he swallowed, and a look of sadness came to his eyes as he contemplated the action he needed to take.

Charles found his answer. My role was just to lead with my ears, to be a sounding board. It is essential that I didn’t know where the conversation was headed. The process loses its impact if I manipulate the client to come to my predetermined solution.

I must keep in mind that the main point is not about finding the answer. It’s about executing it. There is a world of difference. If you do not believe me, ask someone with a weight problem.

When I first got into this business of turnaround, I was young, hot off my MBA, and generally impressed with myself. I thought I would walk into troubled companies and come up with extraordinarily creative ideas. My clients would then thank me profusely, and of course, pay me thousands of dollars.

Wrong. It turns out that fixing troubled companies is not rocket science. Difficult? Yes. Painful? Always. But not all that complicated.

It is about staring the unpleasant realities right in the face, seeing them clearly, and acting accordingly.

Often, when I explain to someone about my style of “leading with my ears,” they say, “Oh, I know what you mean. You listen, and watch people, and then analyze it all so that you can tell them what to do.”

No, that is not what I mean.

Of course I do those things. But what I am talking about here is the power of pure listening. Not so that my brain can process it, and then my mouth can take over, spewing advice. But instead, listening to my client, serving as a sounding board, so that he or she can figure out what they need to do, figure it out and see it clearly.

The point is to help them find, “Ah ha,” or “Oh, yeah. Now I see what I need to do.”

If you seek to coach or advise your employees, and you respect their ability to make their own decisions, try leading with your ears.

You may already know a solution, and that makes your listening challenge even greater. Keep in mind, though, there may be better solutions yet to be discovered.

But again, it is not about the figuring out. It is in the doing. It is about your people having the will to act.

Otherwise, your company may operate in a mode that looks like, “Ready … aim … aim … ready … aim … ready …. ‘whew, that’s tiring, let’s take a rest.'”

John Harrison Newman of Fayetteville specializes in leading turnarounds of troubled mid-sized companies, defined as those with $20 million-$1 billion in annual revenues, by acting as their interim CEO. E-mail him at [email protected].