TALKING LEADERSHIP IN THE POST OFFICE
“Have you filled in your customs form?”.
These days, you need one of those to ship things from the UK to Germany. Things like books, which is why I find myself chatting with Amanda, the Post Office Manager, about the best way to ship a box of books to a friend in Germany.
“What are the books about?” says Amanda, no doubt making small talk whilst we fill in the paperwork.
“Leadership in organisations. I’ve written a couple of short books about it”.
Pause from Amanda, and then this:
“What’s the secret of good leadership?”.
Not such small talk after all. Here’s a tip. If you get behind me in the Post Office queue, join another queue.
My turn to pause now. And then I hear myself say:
“Empathy”.
I liked that answer at the time. I still like that answer. Amanda liked that answer, and it led to a longer conversation.
Like I said, join another queue.
I’ve thought about it a lot since, talked about it with clients, seen some good examples and bad examples.
Bad ones?
The senior leaders trying to manage complex team dynamics through new HR processes, whilst never actually leaving their offices.
The tricky conversations being relegated to Zoom/Teams when time and real engagement are needed – see https://www.martinhowden.com/short-stories/teams.
Good ones?
The leader gathering her team together to reassure them about a particular announcement rather than just leaving it to the bare written communication.
The leader constantly investing in junior staff development even when budgets are really tight. Particularly when Covid has kept those same staff apart for two years.
Empathy’s not enough of course, You need direction, goals, processes.
But without empathy, leaders tend to find themselves without followers. Not leaders then are they?
Fortunately I had enough empathy for those behind me in the Post Office queue to curtail the conversation with Amanda.
Insights are all around us though. That’s my reflection on the incident. Opportunities to learn are everywhere, if we will but slow down and take the time to see them.
FANCY A SLIGHTLY LONGER READ?
Maybe try one or more of the books
