In recent years, leaders have become increasingly aware of the importance of listening to their staff, as:
- It drives innovation and makes teams more effective
- It helps avoid employee burnout
- It means employees are more likely to feel valued, so they are happier, work better, and are less likely to leave, reducing employee turnover
However, simply listening isn’t enough. Team members need to feel comfortable speaking up and sharing their ideas, and, more importantly, ideas need to be nurtured. The most challenging part of this process is making sure that good ideas come to fruition.
In fact, encouraging your staff to share ideas without cultivating and eventually implementing them can do more harm than good. High-performing employees can get discouraged and even look elsewhere if they feel their ideas never go anywhere. This is where it’s essential to create an environment where people feel empowered to not only speak up, but also see ideas through.
Fostering an environment of psychological safety where their team members feel empowered is one of the key parts of the work I do with my clients – read their testimonials here.
