Someone on your team walks in with a problem. Before the second sentence is finished, you already know what to say.
That speed feels like competence. Often the speed is the problem. Advice that arrives before understanding tells the other person one thing: you were not listening. You were waiting.
Job had three friends who came to comfort him after he lost nearly everything. They were sure they knew why he was suffering, and they said so at length. At the end of the book, God says they did not speak what was right (Job 42:7).
The idea. Listening is the first step of the LEADS Path, and listening is finished only when you could state the problem in words the other person would sign. Four checks slow you down enough to get there. Presence: do I understand what this person is facing? Blame: am I making the cause too simple? Humility: what do I not know? Motive: is what I am about to say for this person, or for me?
The action for this week. Pick one conversation where someone brings you a problem. Run the four checks silently before you answer. If any check fails, ask one more question and hold the advice.
“If one gives an answer before he hears, it is his folly and shame.”Proverbs 18:13, ESV
Jake
P.S. The four checks fit on one page. Print a copy from Tools for Leaders.