There’s a Dilbert cartoon where the boss says he only hires people smarter than him. Dilbert points out that that means the person at the top of the organization is the least intelligent. Organizations that hire for diversity will look for complements to fill knowledge gaps.
A consultative communication and leadership style honors the validity of the ideas of all peoples. Especially effective with developing leaders, it can be done by leaders at all levels, even those with little authority. Employees who support their consultative leader improve morale.
What is it?
A consultative direction is the cornerstone of consultative leadership style. Consultative communication utilizes open-ended questions to get all opinions, to uncover hidden issues, and reveal personal agendas.
The leader shows the group that they are willing to consult them and encourages subordinates to present opinions before the decision-making process. Though task-oriented, consultative communication honors the relationships between employees and employers. A leader must be humble enough to consider all opinions.
Consultative communication seeks a win-win. Employees build confidence and buy-in to decisions more readily. The quality of decisions leaders make will often be far better than if she would have made them herself.
Why Consultative?
Consultative communication takes time. Do you have the time required? Can you share ownership?
Consultative communication builds trust, defines goals and objectives, and sets specific expectations. It increases employee participation and balances power. It increases buy-in during times of change and reassures employees who doubt their ability to complete a task.
When Consultative?
Leaders should use consultative communication when they do not know the whole situation. Are your employees on the front line the real experts? If your audience is informed or you’d like to aid in developing more ownership and groom future leaders, consultative communication may be the right approach.
Do you need to shift an employee’s thinking away from a particular idea? Consultative communication can redirect to a more productive outlet.
There may be occasions where subordinates dominate or cause disruptions. Consultative communication with the company Devil’s Advocate may be a challenge.
How to Be a Consultative Communicator
Be patient with yourself, if you’ve been a directive leader, your transition to consultative communication will take time. Let your employees need to know it is safe to speak up. Lead by example. Be transparent.
If you’ve already been working on incoming and outgoing feedback and have employed the formula for an honest workplace, consultative communication will come in time.
Create an Open Culture
- Help people feel safe.
- Start by having more low-risk open conversations. Check in regularly.
- Say the hard things yourself. If something isn’t working, say so.
- Validate the concerns of others.
- Don’t treat civil disagreement as insubordination.
- Sacrifice your ego to show how much you value candor and openness. Ask for critique of yourself.
Facilitate Effectively
Take the appropriate amount of time to hear all sides. If you’re looking for ideas, but will still make the final call, be upfront about it.
Follow these facilitation steps suggested by Seeds for Change:
- Design a good agenda.
- Be aware of both content and process.
- Keep the group moving toward its aims.
- Use a variety of facilitation tools to keep everyone interested.
- Create a safe and empowering atmosphere to get the best contributions from everyone.
- Put a stop to domineering, interrupting, put-downs, and guilt trips.
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