Before You Fix the Process, Talk to the People Running It.

You have a process that is not working. The reports say so. The dashboard says so. So you call a meeting to redesign it.
Stop. The people who run that process every day already know where it breaks. They have not told you, and that is on you, not them.

Go Human First is the first step in closing any gap. Before the data, before the tools, before the new system, ask the people closest to the work one open question: “What’s actually going on here?” Then stay quiet. Longer than is comfortable.

Three things tend to happen when you do.

First, you learn what the data cannot tell you. A number shows a delay. A person tells you why.

Second, people start to trust you with the real answer. The first answer is often the polite one. The second is the true one, and it only arrives after you have shown you will listen.
Third, you find your winners. The person who has quietly been working around the problem for months is the person who should help you fix it.

Try it this week. Pick one stalled project or one frustrating process. Ask the question. Count slowly to ten after you finish asking. Write down what you hear without defending, explaining or fixing.

Then ask a second question: “What would you change first?”
You are not collecting opinions. You are finding out where the gap really is.

Listening first is the cheapest improvement you will make this quarter.
Just read. Try. Fail and get better.

#listen #Leadership #crazysmart #Communication #CommunicateLikeAHumanBeing
#crazysmart #teamcommunication #closethegap