Last week I wrote about the urge to interrupt and developing the habit of staying curious instead. This week I have been reflecting on those situations when nobody dares to interrupt, where people hold back, where “real” discussions happen outside of the meeting room. The situations where instead of everyone getting their turn to speak, a few rise to the challenge of being brave enough to speak up. The situations where power imbalance shuts many down.
It’s hard to be a hero leader nowadays. It’s easy to blame those who strive to be one and dominate meetings. One does require to listen to others, but listening is only useful if people share what they really think, see and feel. While creating a safe thinking space is a leadership challenge, each team member should play an active part in it. But many won’t until they are invited to speak up, feel safe to do so and have clarity of what they think and want. Yet, in today’s firefighting mode, it’s hard to find time to pause and think. There are so many competing priorities. Tuning in does not naturally make it to the top of the list.
Therefore, this week, let’s be intentional about carving out thinking time. Let’s plant time to pause and reflect. So that if given the opportunity, you can speak from your heart. Let’s go beyond being an echo.