When speaking with your management, internal clients, constituents, or business partners,—while they may want the best results from you, what they really need is for you to listen to them first.
Taking responsibility for your success as a leader, is recognizing your client’s needs, and what they want, but haven’t yet achieved because of a lack of resources or budget for example. They want to be heard and understood – just like you.
Your boss wants you to take on the role of advisor and being their best consultant.
Instinctively, you can drill down on those needs when you take on an advisory role. An effective consultant who meets with a first-time client will ask:
What are the biggest risks that your department or division is experiencing right now?
Talk to me about the challenges that your team may be facing?
They will listen closely to what’s being said as much as what’s not being shared directly.
They will listen to their client’s tone of voice. What does his or her tone and choice of words indicate?
Once your boss or clients share these keys pieces of information, you can now align what needs to happen to meet those results. This approach opens a conversation where you have positioned yourself as someone who can not only solve their problem but who understands where they are and where they want to be.
“If you know who your key clients are and what they need, including your own management, then you are their number one service provider. You can then become clear about why you and your team are the best consultants to address their problems” – Own Your Authority (McGraw Hill)
Before I forget, I want to be sure you know about my leadership audio mini audio course (it’s free) that’s designed to help you own your authority in your career by applying 5 top strategies and it works. It’s based on two decades of leading in Corporate America, (I’m a former Wall St. Executive) and those professionals I coach here at In Our Shoes.
Pick one spot. Choose one theme.
Your gutsy action item this week is to approach your boss and clients by actively listening and recognizing their needs.
Then go back and ask yourself whom do you need to reach out to, what is the one thing that poses a risk, what needs to be pushed along to clear the decks to move his or her goals along?
Note: this is about picking one or two spots so that the next time you have that 1-on-1 meeting, you are consistently showing up, demonstrating value.
It’s not enough to be an expert or super competent in what you do. You want to consistently be perceived that way. As a gutsy leader, you want to manage the perception.
p.s. this question came in from the In Our Shoes gutsy village and newsletter. If you haven’t yet checked it out, CLICK HERE to receive career guidance, business strategies and Q&A call invites that will move the needle in your career.
All right. I will talk to you soon. Bye now.
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