The Leadership Advantage Isn’t Information. It’s Understanding.
One of the greatest myths in leadership is that better decisions come from having more information.
Think about it, how often do you hear people complain they don’t know what’s going on around the business and they feel left out or out of the loop? Then, what prevails, is a conversation about what we’re doing to make sure people know what’s going on, and we look for more effective ways to share information.
More team updates.
More data, analysis and reporting.
All to provide more information, in the hope of creating certainty.
Yet, despite having access to more information than at any point in human history, leaders continue to face rising complexity, declining engagement, burnout, increasing turnover and growing uncertainty.
Why is that?
The truth is, we're still operating from the same old paradigm. When uncertainty and doubt arise, we look outside ourselves for evidence of what's missing. We search for more information, more updates and more certainty, rather than exploring what might be creating uncertainty in the first place.
We're quick to blame systems, processes and other people, while overlooking the one thing within our control: our own understanding.
Now, I'm not suggesting there isn't anything to address in what others are doing or not doing. Of course there is. But our experience of uncertainty is ours to navigate. No matter what someone else says or does, we are the ones with the power to resolve it.
You can go looking for more information, and people can give you more information, but let's be honest. Do you really have time to read another update or watch another generic video download about what's happening around the business?
And even if you did, what impact would it really have on your ability to show up at your best, be a great human, and connect your actions to your organisation's purpose?
The real problem isn't giving people more information.
The real problem is a lack of understanding.
This insight became even more apparent while reflecting on an article by one of my dear friends, mentors and consultants in decision thinking, Shona Bernard Chandler, exploring Indigenous and Western approaches to decision-making.
The article challenges us to consider a powerful question:
What if the quality of our decisions is shaped not only by what we know, but by how we know?
Sit with that for a moment.
Because information and understanding are not the same thing.
Information and Understanding Are Not the Same Thing
Many of us believe that better decisions come from gathering more information, but information and understanding are not the same thing. Let me give you an example:
As a leader, you may know employee engagement is declining (or at least stable, but lower than you'd expect). You may know you're making little progress against your women in leadership targets. You will certainly know if your people aren't performing to expectations, productivity is falling, or turnover is either stubbornly low or rapidly increasing.
That's valuable information. But information alone doesn't tell you what to do next.
Why is engagement declining?
What are people experiencing?
What isn’t being said?
What assumptions are being made?
What is happening beneath the surface?
Without answers to these questions, leaders risk solving symptoms while missing causes.
We Don’t Lead Data. We Lead People.
Let me give you another example. Performance conversations.
As a leader, you may know an employee is underperforming and you have the data to prove it. But no matter how many conversations you have where your employee is clear about the actions they need to take, and they even take them, nothing changes.
Why is that?
It’s because the answer doesn’t lie the information being presented or observed. The answer lies in in their understanding, which is less obvious and unobservable.
Let’s use the iceberg to better understand what I mean.
Above the surface is what you observe in people’s behaviour (what they say and do, and the results they produce). Beneath the surface is what you cannot see that’s driving people’s behaviour - their fears, values, motivations, beliefs, principles, ideals, standards and ‘decisions’.
It’s not until you (and they) understand what’s beneath the surface driving their decisions, that you will get any change in behaviour. I have a saying, “we are always playing the game we are playing”.
If you, or your people, aren't producing the results you expect, there's almost always something beneath the surface shaping those outcomes.
While you keep focusing on changing behaviour, the human experience that’s driving the behaviour remains unexplored and while its’ a lot harder to discover, it’s where the answers to your problems lie.
The challenge for leaders is learning to see beneath the surface.
And if understanding lives beneath the surface, leaders need a way to access it.
Listening Deeply
One of the most common comments I experience in my interactions with leaders when I start talking about the profound impact of our values, and purpose, is “that’s deep”. I used to shy away (driven by my own fear of people backing off on ‘deep and meaningful’ conversations), but I have come to realise the profound impact it has on helping people eliminate complexity and fulfil on what really matters - and believe it or not, that leads to breakthrough experiences, and breakthrough results!
So how exactly do I do it?
There is one simple practice. Listening.
Listening with purpose and listening for purpose.
Not listening to respond, persuade or influence. Listening to understand what people are communicating, even when they don't have the words to say it explicitly.
Listening beyond the words for meaning, intention and what is trying to emerge.
The Leadership Advantage of LISTENING TO UNDERSTAND
As AI continues to transform the way we work, information will become increasingly abundant. Access to knowledge is, and will, no longer be the differentiator. Understanding will.
The leaders who thrive in the future will not be those who have all the answers, have access to the most information or can move the fastest. They will be the ones with the greatest capacity to impact understanding - leaders who listen, build trust, understand context to help people better navigate, or better yet, eliminate complexity.
Three Ways to Start Listening Differently Today
The good news is that listening deeply isn't another capability you need months of training to develop. It starts with small shifts in attention and intention.
1. Listen to understand, not to reply.
The next time you're in a conversation, notice how often you're preparing your response while the other person is still speaking. Instead, ask yourself: "What am I missing?"
Stay curious for just a little longer. Ask one more question. Reflect back what you've heard and invite people to do the thinking, give them space to explore what’s driving their decisions and to find the solution. Hold back on offering your advice, and listen. Understanding lives in the conversation we often cut short.
2. Get comfortable with silence.
Most leaders rush to fill gaps. They reassure, explain, give advice and solve.But silence isn't empty. Silence creates space for people to think, process and say what really matters.
The next time someone answers a difficult question, pause for five seconds before responding. You may be surprised by what emerges after the first answer. The first answer is rarely the whole story.
The truth often arrives after the silence, so give people time to contemplate and come back to you.
3. Listen for what sits beneath the surface.
Behaviour is information, but it isn't the whole story. When someone is disengaged, underperforming, resistant and not producing the desired results, move beyond asking, "What are you doing?" Instead, ask:
What might they be experiencing?
What matters most to them right now?
What matters most to them right now?
What are they trying to achieve?
What might they be afraid to say?
What are they trying to protect?
We hire smart people, pay them a lot of money, then we block their creativity by managing them.
The fastest way to change behaviour is to understand the human experience. People don't want to be managed, the want to be understood.
In a world where information is abundant, understanding will become the true leadership advantage. Perhaps the greatest gift we can offer the people we lead is not another answer, but the experience of being deeply understood.
Ignite your passion, listen deeply.
Kylee x
Kylee Stone is the Founder and CEO of The Performance Code, a 100% First Nations-owned leadership consultancy helping organisations unlock performance by aligning strategy, people and purpose.
An Aboriginal woman with ancestral connections to the Kullili and Wakka Wakka Peoples, Kylee brings more than 25 years of leadership experience spanning corporate, entrepreneurial and transformational leadership environments. Her work integrates Indigenous ways of knowing, being and doing with contemporary leadership practice to help leaders navigate complexity, build trust and unlock hidden potential.
A highly sought-after facilitator, keynote speaker and executive coach, Kylee has worked with some of Australia's most successful leaders and organisations to create the conditions where people, performance and purpose thrive. Her mission is to unlock the hidden potential of one million emerging leaders through the power of Listening Deeply.
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