ELI Group's Blog

The way we work is through talk

As a leader in your organization, the way you work is through talk. You probably have a core expertise or academic specialty area that was the primary focus in earlier roles but at this point, the way you get your job done is probably through talk. And, by talk, we mean all forms of communication - conversation/email/presentation etc..  Many leaders struggle with this concept as they feel a need for a more tangible result from their day of effort.  In earlier roles, there is typically a concrete product or result from a day’s effort.  However, in leadership roles, the product of the day is achieved through teaching others, sharing information or ideas, influencing peers, directing staff, setting vision and motivating employees.  Your success in these efforts is dependent upon how well you are talking.

How often do you stop and assess how you are talking and with whom you are talking and thereby working?  If our work is to talk, we need to assess how we are talking.  We suggest a simple but powerful exercise to do this assessment.  Create a 2×2 box with yes/no as row headings and Talking/Listening as column headings.  In the Yes boxes, list the names of the colleagues that you are actively talking with and listening to.  And, in the No boxes, list the names of colleagues that you do not talk with and/or listen to.  When thinking of appropriate colleagues to consider, think of the individuals that make the most sense – the ones you should be working with based on your role.  When you examine your result, look for patterns. What do the boxes tell you about how you are working?  If the fact that you don’t talk or listen to some key colleagues is having a business cost,  you know you have work to do.  Choose an appropriate next step for each individual in those boxes and start your work!