Will You Listen to Me…Please?!

An excerpt from You’re Not the Boss of Me! A Guide to Leadership Development. The book is available on Amazon.com.

Individuals in leadership positions tend to think that everyone should listen to them about everything. Guess what? Many times, you sound like the adults on the Peanuts cartoons. Just because you may be in a leadership position does not mean you have the oratory skills of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

One area of frustration for many leaders is ensuring that people take them seriously when they speak. Here are six ways to get people to take you seriously. Note: This is not an all-inclusive list, but it is a good start.

1. Active listening. We just spoke about this, allow others to speak. Ensure that you are in the moment and listening. Remember, listen for understanding not for when you can jump in with your opinion.

2. Watch your tone. When speaking, you do not want to come off condescending. You want to speak with confidence not arrogance.

3. Make statements not questions. Have you noticed when you get nervous speaking to someone (or a group of people) you end sentences as questions instead of statements? You want people to listen to you, think about what you are saying and process it. You do not want people wondering about your knowledge on the subject/topic.

4. Stay knowledgeable. You should know about new technologies, processes, etc., related to your industry. Get a subscription to a journal in your industry, read the paper (either hard copy or soft copy), join an association, etc. Stay in the know.

5. Be confident. This is not only about how you speak, but how you present yourself, do not mutter, speak clearly. Do not put someone else down to make yourself look better that is not confidence it is pettiness. Again, be confident, but not arrogant.

6. Dress the part. Now, I know that the dress code for many businesses is much more casual than it used to be but this does not mean you get to wear your “It is 5 o’clock Somewhere” t-shirt and your jeans with holes in the knees. You can still look professional in a pair of nice jeans and a shirt. The key is to look clean and neat.

Let’s pause here for a moment and speak about piercings and tattoos. For a certain generation, these two areas are a strict no-no; however, nowadays it may be difficult to find a millennial (or many people for that matter) that does not have a few or more of each. If you have piercings and tattoos, you know what is appropriate for your work environment and what is not. Use common sense when you are dressing each day.

1. Give credit where credit is due. It is important to know your team. This means not only the team members that like to be seen and heard but those that are quite contributors. No matter how hard it may be to give credit, you must do so as it shows that you respect your team members and their contributions. Take a moment and think about a time when you were not given credit. How did that make you feel? Do you want others to feel that way?

It is not always easy to get people to listen to every word you speak. You have to remember, that sometimes there are individuals who will not listen to you no matter what you say or how you say it. Confidence is one of the main keys in being a good leader. You cannot be wishy-washy and doubting who you are and what you are.

#leadership