Why is that almost everyone in any organization feel that their leaders are not listening to them enough. The humour goes that "Bosses don't have time to 'turun padang' because they are busy with courses ....Golf Courses!"
Jokes aside, is this true? Or, are employees expect too much from their bosses. After all bosses do have work to do, although at most times employees have no idea what that is!
Or, could it be true that our managers and business leaders have forgotten the simple art of having tea with shop floor workers or the front liners to get firsthand knowledge of what is going on in and around the business?
People like to be appreciated and the one thing that people like to hear which shows that they are appreciated is " What do you think?" This simple question goes somewhere deep into their brains and miraculously their neurotransmitters seem to send the message that they are being appreciated. Otherwise why would the boss want to know what they think? Magical? Simple? Yes!
I find it insulting to the intelligence of employees when bosses are fond of saying that employees have no idea of the difficulties and challenging circumstances in managing the business! Come on! We all know how difficult it is to manage a business especially when you have t suck up to powerful interest groups both from within and without the organization. That still should not stop a manager from being at the pulse of action to hear first hand of what is bothering the employees. Of course, some managers have also told me that they are afraid to ask for feedback from their employees for fear that they will not be able to do anything about is as most of the issues are beyond their control anyway. In other words they dread being labeled NATO (No action, talk only). In my dictionary, NATO also means Not A Team Operator. How do you instill team spirit when you are not bothered to find out what your team thinks or feels or hopes to change.
Of course, listening can be painful. We may hear things we rather not hear. We may hear things which we hoped others have not noticed. But hearing them out now will save a lot of pain later and you will win your team to your side to boot.
So, the Year of the Rat is approaching. This is a good time to do some management by walking. Gong Xi Fa Chai everybody!
