How to Get Employees to Listen to You: 3 Key Strategies
Have you ever seen your employees nodding their heads in agreement, but simultaneously noticed a glazed look in their eyes while doing so? Or have you asked for something, received a verbal cue that the request was heard, and not seen any results? In these cases, you were heard, but you weren’t listened to.
Hearing a request is one thing; listening to and respecting the request is a whole other. If you lack influence among your team members, you likely experience the former more than the latter. Although you’re communicating with your team members, you aren’t getting through to them. It’s this kind of disconnect that leads to poor productivity and slower results.
Leaders make a lot of mistakes. What can you do to change this, so you’re not making the same mistakes and instead getting results from your employees? Here is how to go from just getting heard to reaching your team with influence.
1. Get your audience invested in your message
If you’ve ever heard of Simon Sinek’s concept of "Start With Why," then you know the importance of understanding why someone takes action. Why do your customers buy from you? Why do your employees show up at work every day?
Start with those whys, then move on to your own whys:
- Why does your organization exist?
- Why does your team exist?
- Why are you asking your team to do something specific?
Although it might feel like you’re speaking to a toddler as you consider the answers to these questions, it’s an important step to take. Giving your employees a reason to listen means sharing why something matters. That reasoning is important to getting your audience (your team) invested in your message.
When your team understands the purpose behind a request, they’re more likely to follow through. Suddenly, they aren’t just cogs in a well-oiled machine. Your employees are people who are making a difference and working toward a bigger goal. Make your team feel emotionally connected to and invested in your overall goals, and you’ll have greater success when you ask for something.
2. Build trust by showing trust
In addition to giving your team a reason to listen to you, you must also show them that you trust them to follow through with great results. Building trust is hard work and often takes time. To do this effectively and efficiently, build your trust with your team by showing them first that you trust them to do the job well.
This can be hard to do, especially for seasoned managers. If you’ve been burned by an employee who hasn’t followed through in the past, it’s hard to hand over the reins again in the future.
The answer to this dilemma is to start small. Start showing that you trust your team by handing over smaller tasks. For example, give your team some control over their schedule. Show them that you trust them to be present enough to accomplish what needs to be done by letting them manage their own shifts. This type of trust will go a long way toward building your influence among your team members.
3. Set clear expectations
If you want to get results, you have to make it clear what results look like. It sounds obvious, but many times employees don’t understand what they need to do. Instead, they simply hear a request and don’t know what the follow-through looks like (or should look like).
By setting and clearly defining your expectations, you doing a better job of influencing how work gets done. Your team knows what you need from them, so it makes it easier for each person to follow through on his or her duties. You’re not simply spouting off random requests, but instead defining what the end result should look like so employees know when they’ve done the job well.
How can you influence your team?
Getting your team to absorb your requests, rather than simply letting each one go in one ear and out the other, starts by getting each person invested in what you’re doing. When there’s a feeling of investment in the company’s overall goals, and by showing trust in your employees and setting clear expectations, you’ll end up with better results and have greater influence among your team.
