Listen to the music...

Many professionals I know learn from things they hear about outside of their work. Case in point: in the run up to both the 2016 and 2020 Presidential elections here in the US, pollsters misread (or were mis-lead about) the voting public’s intent by a significant margin. I guess voters don’t much trust telling their true thoughts or intentions to the pollsters. Extrapolating that to work, employee opinion surveys may similarly be less than accurate, and companies that rely solely on them to learn about employee’s ideas and attitudes may get fooled into believing false narratives and expectations. That’s why effective interpersonal communications – the kind where managers are in the habit of talking and listening to their employees, are the most effective ways of alerting organizations and leaders to what’s really on their employees. Many organizations have started using new survey formats that ask only a single question at a time and thus are able to reliably learn more about those individual issues; when done multiple times a year, these can collectively create more accurate and complete pictures of employee thinking. But again, nothing is better than sitting with people with whom you have a trusting and respectful relationship and talking openly about issues, hopes, fears and suggestions. Emphasis on talking and listening. Because if they trust you, they’ll tell you what’s really on their minds. That’s the best way to hear what’s coming today.

David Bowie (born David Robert Jones) - (1947 – 2016): An English singer-songwriter and actor