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Paul Franson, Clinical IT Development Manager, Medtronic
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Jay Primack, Managing Partner, Moriarty & Primack P.C.
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“I wish everyone read this book. Ann Latham’s “Uncommon Meetings” is a quick read, packed with substantive ideas on how to get more out of meetings in less time. Everyone who runs meetings should read it!”
Janet Warren, President, MarCom Capital
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“Ann Latham is one of the best business speakers I have heard. She is very experienced, the quality of her thinking is extremely high, and she knows how to deliver her message in an entertaining, concise, and convincing way.”
Dr. Alan G. Robinson, Isenberg School of Management, Author - "Ideas Are Free"
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“On a collaborative project with Boeing Phantom Works, Ann did a tremendous job in identifying the cost drivers, producibility issues, and productivity barriers of a supplier organization, all of which were impeding the success of our project.”
Ed Gerding, Chief Engineer C-17 St. Louis, The Boeing Company
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“Ann can help you identify the crux of a problem and solutions that will work for you. While others may be good, my 35 years of experience tells me that no one is better.”
Perry Walraven, President and CEO, Performance Controls, Inc. a Subsidiary of Hitachi Medical Corporation
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“Ann’s ability to simplify complex issues such that everyone understood their respective roles was a key part of her success. She truly helped us achieve profitable and predictable growth while improving the quality of our methods and processes.”
S. W. Emery, Jr., Chairman and CEO, MTS Systems Corporation
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W. Lowell Putnam, Chairman/CSO, VCI (Video Communications, Inc.)
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“’Wow’ sums it up nicely. The way Ann works is impressive: she has a great handle on people, makes everyone want to work together, ensures meetings are focused and valuable, and simplifies the challenges and options so all can reach shared conclusions.”
John Heaps, President, Florence Savings Bank
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Bob Fazzi, President & CEO, Fazzi Associates
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Michael Niedenfuehr, Financial Planner, Cambridge Investment Research, Inc.
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Jane Lansing, VP Marketing, Emerson Process Management
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“Ann uncovers common ground, creates opportunity, and guides the group to new shared conclusions in remarkably little time.”
Laurie Fenlason, Vice President for Public Affairs, Smith College
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Dana Badgerow, General Manager, AeroMet Corporation
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Chuck McCullagh, CFO, The Williston Northampton School
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“Ann Latham transformed our thinking about how our organization works. This discovery led us to a strategic model that solves our pain and opens new opportunities. She truly lives up to her brand of ‘uncommon clarity.’”
Suzanne Beck, Executive Director, Greater Northampton Chamber of Commerce
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“Ann is a captivating speaker, providing important principles in an approachable, common-sense way. Our audience enjoyed her depth and breadth of knowledge.”
Aimee Griffin Munnings, Esq., Director, Western New England College Law and Business Center for Advancing Entrepreneurship
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Russell Peotter, General Manager, WGBY - Public Television for Western New England
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Joan Schuman, Executive Director, Hampshire Educational Collaborative
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“The time and stress saved by one phone call with Ann was astounding.”
Rev. Johanna McCune Wagner, Director of Religious Life, The Culver Academies
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Every organization would benefit from the material found in Ann’s audio seminar, “Meeting Mastery.”
Chuck Hatch, General Manager, Packaging Corporation of America
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Seeing-Eye Boss
You tell them over and over again, but they don’t seem to get it. They don’t get it, so you don’t trust them. You don’t trust them, so you don’t give them more responsibility. You have to do things yourself. Plus, you have to keep them under control. How will you ever make real progress?
You won’t. Not alone. You need their help. All of them. But first, they need your help.
Read the first sentence of this article again. See how much trouble is caused just because they don’t seem to get it? But that isn’t the root cause – their inability to get it. It all starts with the telling. Have you really done what you can to help them understand what you are trying to tell them?
An employee with a clear understanding of your strategy, priorities, plans, and the associated challenges and risks, is worth far more than an employee doing his job without that understanding. An aware employee can contribute to the company’s success not only by staying focused and using good judgment, but by seeing things you don’t see, hearing things you don’t hear, thinking of ideas you wouldn’t think of, anticipating problems you can’t anticipate, supporting others when you aren’t present - the list goes on and on. You can’t do it all, know it all, or be everywhere. You need aware employees.
But employees need your help to achieve this awareness. Helping your employees understand your strategy, priorities, risks and plans requires regular, on-going dialog. Their attitudes, skill, experience and existing knowledge will affect what they hear in ways that you can not possibly imagine. The only way to know if your communication efforts are succeeding, is to listen. And listening is easier if you ask good, open ended questions. Adapt the following questions to your situation:
- How will this affect our customers?
- How will this affect the people in your group?
- What can you do to help your people understand?
- What makes this hard?
- What skills might we need to develop?
- What attitudes and behaviors will it be important to encourage?
- What resistance should we expect?
- What resources might you need?
- What will you do differently tomorrow?
- How does this affect other priorities?
- Who else needs to be involved?
- What will you have to do to make this successful?
Whether following up on a discussion about a new situation or keeping tabs on a situation underway for many months, open-ended questions such as these will give you the opportunity to see how your employees are thinking about their work, their problems, their people, and more. Meet one on one with employees regularly. Listen respectfully and carefully. Guide them gently as a teacher might. Help their understanding grow along with their confidence.
Keep in mind that the world looks very different from their position. To think like you, they would have to have lived your life. To see the workplace as you do, they would have to have your job. To understand exactly what you say, they would have to share your brain. And to communicate honestly with you, they have to trust you. Telling is not communication. Ask sincerely, listen carefully, and respond from the perspective that it is you who is still missing something, not the employee. When you finally see what they see, they will see what they didn’t see.
© 2006 Ann Latham. All Rights Reserved.