Please indulge me in one more dot from Pelosi. In the book, Molly Ball writes: “Pelosi learned to listen to what people were actually saying, not what she wanted to hear – and to get it in writing if possible. ‘You’d be a great whip!’ was not a ‘yes.’ Only a commitment to vote was a yes…The ability to hear what people were actually saying would, in the years to come, be a crucial component of Pelosi’s vote-counting skills.”
I think many managers could learn from her strategy. It is so easy to dismiss thoughts and opinions that run counter to our thinking or to hear only what we hope people are saying. We become focused on what we want to see – and therefore, see lots of examples to support our case – without having the broad perspective to notice what is truly happening in the landscape. We ask for feedback in settings that make it challenging for respondents to be truthful or vulnerable, and we interchange “being nice” with “agreement.”
One of the ways managers can cultivate a strong culture is to listen to not only what is actually being said, but to listen for what isn’t. The more you can accurately assess reality, the greater your ability to influence it.
Quote from: Pelosi by Molly Ball, 2020, p. 82
