SmartPulse — our weekly nonscientific reader poll in SmartBrief on Leadership — tracks feedback from more than 190,000 business leaders. We run the poll question each week in our e-newsletter.
Last week, we asked: How effectively do you address your people’s feelings (versus just focusing on their thoughts)?
- I’m very sensitive to and mindful of their feelings: 49.31%
- I occasionally tend to their feelings: 37.37%
- I rarely attend to their feelings. Thoughts matter more: 6.23%
- What are feelings? Don’t bring those to work: 7.09%
Using the F-word at work. Feelings can sometimes be awkward or back of mind to deal with. We tend to gravitate toward the logical at work. I invite you to try an experiment in your next meeting in which you’re making a decision or a change: Near the end of the discussion, ask whether anyone has a question. You’ll likely get none, or maybe one or two at most. After that, ask how people feel about the change. You might be surprised by how much people have to say and where the conversation goes. Remember, while no one may have questions, everyone has feelings.
Mike Figliuolo is managing director of thoughtLEADERS and author of “One Piece of Paper: The Simple Approach to Powerful, Personal Leadership.”