Absolute Citrin
by Richard Citrin

A client, Susan, shared that a new employee, David, was openly critical of the organization’s decision-making process and his teammates. The team was souring on him, and Susan was concerned that she had made a bad hire. When I asked her if this fellow’s concerns were warranted, she shared there was some legitimacy, but how he shared them turned everyone off, including her.
Rather than going in and hard balling it with him, I suggested that she might want to approach this from a detective’s perspective, working to unravel the truth.
And for that, she would have to go into “full listening mode.” Of course, David’s behavior was inappropriate, and it leads one to ask why he was acting in this manner. Susan and the team had no ideas, and I suspect that David doesn’t know either. He left little space for others to inquire, as the emotional response that his behavior evoked kept the team from listening. Susan’s leadership task was to break through and discover what was happening and change it.
I told Susan there were 3 keys to being a super-listening detective
Susan found out that David was feeling insecure in his new role and that his previous boss told him that a leader asserts himself and makes their position known. David began to acknowledge that he was feeling a bit overwhelmed After their meeting, he sent a note to Susan thanking her for her time and for truly listening to him. He told her that he could see he was being a bit of a jerk and was going to modify his actions. At the next meeting, he apologized to the team and told them he would be a better partner for the work.
Susan was shocked by how little she did and how much impact her actions had on David. He was an intelligent guy, and by giving him the space to be heard, he recognized, on his own, the steps he had to take to remedy the situation.
A perfect leadership action by Susan. Get in, get out and get it done—all by being a detective and using the skill of listening.
Listening is a powerhouse skill that any leader or team can learn. It has a low investment and high payoff. Let’s chat about how you and your team can become better listeners and get more done.
© Richard Citrin 2022