Are you a reader or a listener?

I always ask people in workshops when they have their best ideas. The answers are as diverse as they are funny and telling. During a longer run or bicycle ride, on the commute from work, under the shower or while spending time in the bathroom for other reasons. Notice one thing? No one mention their workplace. No one says they have their best ideas between 8 and 5 during the workweek. Our brain delivers the moment of clarity, the divine spark, when it wants to, not when it has to.

A listener of this podcast has found the movie I was referring to in the episode about natural born leaders. Watching the movie after 35 years made me change the subject of today's episode: How much does the position define a person and how much person can you bring into a position. Who are we, when and where and why? Movie link (pls listen to my disclaimer in the podcast)  https://youtu.be/BHEnUPirh1M

I have a list of things that I want to share in this podcast series and I'm always waiting for a spark during the week which subject to pursue. This week it came from the feedback of a podcast listener. The eMail read: Dirk, can you please make an episode about fear? Should employees be afraid of somebody or something and how does fear impact culture & performance?

Being brief or concise can be very helpful. Most of us aren’t very efficient communicators though, myself included. When I need to be brief, I follow a rule which I call the 140 character rule. Get in touch: [email protected]. Thanks for listening. 

I have my opinion whether leaders are born - or made. But as always, I do my research before I turn on the mic. And boy, I fell into another rabbit hole. Like the other week when I tried to define clarity. 

Last week I've said we're going to do a Myers-Briggs personality type (MBTI) debrief together. It is the mother of all introspective tests and is based on CG Jung's 1921 book on personality types. Grab your old MBTI or do a fresh one at either 16personalities.com for free or get the full 20 pages deep report at mbtionline.com for money. Either is good to follow along. Welcome to the beginning of the end of one-sidedness. 

Some of us are organized, detailed and amazingly precise. Others are chaotic, creative and refreshingly imprecise. But, who of the two would you hire as your chief accountant? Ideally there is a fit between talent and task. 

Why are some things so hard to get out of the system that clearly don’t have a benefit? What are we up against when we try to change our beahvior? Stay with me when I talk about neural pathways, our toddler brain and what we can do about the demons that reside in us. 

Usually - Before I turn on the microphone to record my thoughts, I typically browse the internet, my library, my experiences, talk to other people - in short, I do thorough research to be able to offer something of value.  It's Sunday now and I have been working on CLARITY on and off since Wednesday and it's like diving into a deep ocean and I still haven’t reached the bottom. Clarity seems to be able to unlock potential but it also has the power to destroy trust.  

Today I want to talk about listening as a skill that is far too underdeveloped in many of us - listeners and readers alike. Stay with me when I share one of the most powerful tools to become a better listener and the grave consequences it can have, if our listening skills lack. Welcome to Leadership Bits.