Tick, Tock

“Tick, tock, tick, tock.” We were staying at someone else’s house, and my wife was concerned that the noise might keep her awake at night. I didn’t even notice the sound of the clock. It’s one of those physical issues that my doctor explains with the introductory phrase, “At your age …” Regardless of my hearing loss, the fix for this problem was easy – we moved the clock to another room for the night. I suppose that I could have insisted that the sound wasn’t real since I didn’t hear it. But that would have been silly, not to mention disrespectful. I wonder, however, if leaders are guilty of a version of that exact mistake. If they’ve not personally experienced or directly heard about a problem, they may be inclined to dismiss it. A pastor might be told that guests find the environment to be uninviting or that parents think the youth group is too superficial. To accept this feedback means that you must admit the problem and take steps to address it. Sometimes it seems easier to pretend that the feedback isn’t valid and ignore it. I’m not suggesting that every complaint deserves immediate attention. Some people are chronic complainers. Sometimes the root of the criticism is resistance to changes that need to be made. Some negative feedback is based on an isolated incident or a single perspective that is not widely shared. But I am suggesting that leaders need to listen, and often investigate, in order to make these determinations. It’s not a legitimate strategy to only accept what you hear or experience first-hand. In fact, just like my hearing issues, leaders often don’t hear the feedback because they become isolated or inaccessible. That doesn’t mean that the concerns are untrue. So cast a wide listening net and be willing to consider indirect feedback. When necessary, do something about that problematic sound, before it causes you or others a sleepless night. It’s easy to receive my blogs by email. Just sign-up on Feedburner by clicking here.]]>