How effectively do you/your leaders run informal Q&A sessions with your associates?
Our reader poll today asks: How Effectively Do You/your Leaders Run Informal Q&A Sessions With Your Associates?
- Very: They’re authentic, approachable and listen as much as they talk: 24%
- Kind of: Sometimes they don’t listen well, or they talk too much: 42%
- Not at all: Those sessions turn into longwinded periods of them listening to themselves talk: 35%
You’re there for them. If you’re a leader who occasionally runs Q&A or “all hands” meetings with your teams, remember — you’re there for them, not for you. While it may be tempting to talk about a bunch of things of interest to you and it might feel good to have the spotlight on you, consider what your audience needs. Focus on addressing their questions rather than offering formally prepared remarks. Pay attention to body language and know when you’ve overstayed your welcome. Set aside ego, focus on your people, and give them what they want… then leave. No one likes a blowhard and from the looks of this poll, many leaders out there are playing this role all too often.
Do you agree with these poll results? Let us know in the comments below!
– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC
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These results were originally a SmartPulse poll in SmartBrief on Leadership which tracks feedback from more than 240,000 business leaders. Get smarter on leadership and sign up for the SmartBrief on Leadership e-newsletter.
These calls are definitely in the bottom 35% group where I work. “All Hands” calls usually require questions to be submitted in advance so that canned answers can be prepared that often fail to answer the question asked.
It would be a refreshing change to have ones like the top group you list!