Do you know how things really are in your business?
Being the boss often means people say what they think you want to hear.
Even when you are careful to recruit ‘independent thinkers’ after a while they can easily become ‘Yes men’.
Getting honest feedback from the front line is indispensable to know how your customers feel.
Avoid asking questions where just ‘yes’ or ‘no’ can be given as answers.
Don’t let people know your opinion until you have heard theirs.
Honest, straight answers can be hard to come by. If you hear too many politically correct answers there is a serious risk of being cut-off from reality.
Is there an elephant in the room that everyone else knows about except for you?
Do you know it is there but won’t admit it because admitting it means you have to do deal with it?
It can be difficult to get the truth and maybe, as Jack Nicholson said in A Few Good Men, “You can’t handle the truth”.
This is a major obstacle. Are you prepared to listen openly and consider another person’s point of view?
Will you let them explain their point without interrupting and think about what they say, not about your feelings about them as a person?
People usually don’t want to be the bearer of bad news or to contradict their superior, even when it is something that needs to be said.
They are often afraid to express their opinions and speak their mind or think ‘why bother’ and avoid conflict.
Shooting the messenger has been around a long time.
It helps if people know you will thank, not shoot them, for passing on information.
It can require some training to detect when a person doesn’t mean what they say.
Recently micro expressions have been researched and become fashionable; however, body language remains easier and more reliable.
In summary, these are some tactics for getting straight answers:
Be honest with yourself first
Empty your mind so you hear without judging
Ask open questions
Leave pauses, often people need to fill them in and will keep talking
Watch for body language that shows in-congruency with what the person is saying
Thank people for their input
Admit your mistakes then people will be less frightened to admit theirs.
As a final suggestion, something from the 80’s. Try ‘management by walking about’.
At least like that you can see what is going on.
