the
innovative LEDGER
An e-Newsletter from The Innovative Edge™ Inc.
Vol.
8, No. 9 - September 2008
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Listening for Innovation
By Jeff Govendo
A
recent article in Time Magazine featured a story on Nelson Mandela,
the former president of South Africa whose understated yet forceful
leadership led his country out of the darkness of apartheid in the
1980’s and 90’s.
Mandela,
who celebrated his 90th birthday last month (nearly a third of those
years spent in prison), outlined his 8 Lessons of Leadership to Richard
Stengel, Mandela’s biographer and author of the article. Those
who have even casually followed Mandela’s life story and political
career would find these lessons right in line with the way he has
lived his life: drawing upon moral authority, rather than bombast,
to make powerful and persuasive arguments, all the while leading by
example.
I
was especially taken by Lesson #3: "Lead from the back –
and let others believe they are in front." In describing this,
Stengel recalls Mandela’s oft-repeated exhortation about "quiet"
leadership: "Don’t enter the debate too early."
What
he meant was to let others say what they have to say, while reaping
the benefits of gathering more information, seeing where others stand,
deepening your own understanding of the issue and, yes, allowing that
all these factors may well influence your own position if you approach
it with an open mind.
What
he’s talking about is the power of listening.
Ask
people about the value of being a good listener, and usually they
will describe it in terms of politeness and civility. It’s nice
to listen before you speak. Show people you care what they’re
saying before giving them the benefits of your own wisdom.
But,
observe the behavior of people in team meetings or other groups, and
all too often you’ll see them attempting to speak over one another,
or at best simply waiting for their turn to speak their piece. What
passes for listening is really each individual’s rehearsal period
for what they’re going to say.
So,
while most folks like the idea of good listening, I see relatively
few practicing it, nor appreciating its real power as a communication
and leadership tool, as did Mandela.
In
addition, it’s an absolutely critical tool in the innovation
process. Truly innovative organizations tend to be populated by
great listeners who recognize on some level the limitations of groups
where each individual is trying to come up with the big idea. Instead,
they listen to one another as if there were no personal boundaries.
No pride of authorship, no comparison of whose ideas are "the
best" (or worst). Rather, each idea belongs to the group as a
whole - to tweak, to play with, to build upon. Where this happens,
the quantity and quality of ideas generated is many times greater
than when each person operates as an island unto themselves.
While
it may not be true in other contexts, where innovation counts, group
process definitely trumps rugged individualism. And a key part
of that process is deep, mindful listening.
Next
month we'll look at 6 ways to become a more effective listener.
I
think Mr. Mandela would approve.
