Converse….Think ….Act..

As the Chairman of the School Committee, I used to manage the affairs of five schools. Our Schools have been in high demand in the city because of their past performance. One fine morning, the Secretary of the Education Committee came to see me. He was visibly upset and worried. He had lot of issues with the principals of the schools. I asked him to call for a meeting with the stake holders. I went with few relevant questions and hosted conversations while tapping group experience, relationship and intelligence and magic happened. We got answer to most of our issues. Everybody felt involved and committed to the objective.

Life is a creative, intimate and unpredictable conversation and the leader in conversation should be outreaching and have a coaching mindset. When you coach, your goal is to provoke insight by inviting team members but, our brains are wired to answer questions, solve problems and fix issues.

Unfortunately, too often we forget this basic fact. Most people view leadership as directing, controlling and fixing. This perspective assumes that people are robotic machines. Leaders and employees are human beings and human beings aren’t machines. So, we shouldn’t be surprised when both leaders and employees find themselves tired, burned out and deprived of a purpose. Leadership is an explorative and curious conversation. And like any explorative adventure, you will only succeed if you believe and trust – in yourself and in others – to let other people find the solution themselves.

Conversation are the way employees discover what they know, share it with others and in the process create new knowledge for the organization. Since time immemorial communities have been seen gathering in circles around the warmth of a fire, talking together and this has been our primary means for discovering common interest, sharing knowledge, imagining the future and co-operating to thrive. As our conversation is the impetus that drives us to achieve common yet fruitful goals. The natural cross pollination of relationships, ideas and thoughts enables us to learn, explore possibilities and co-create.

Conversational leadership takes root when leaders see their organizations as dynamic web of conversation and consider conversations as a core process for effective positive change. Something fundamentally changes when people begin

to ask questions together. The question creates more of learning conversation and helps to find your way. Without focus on critical issues and questions they evoke, there is no reason to act and no context for collaborative learning.

For hosting a conversation to provide creative solution to issues, it is required to clarify the context, create a hospitable space, and encourage everyone’s contribution. This results in the harvest of collective discoveries.

Conversational leadership is a practice where the leader shuns the tag “I know…” and is always open to suggestions. You listen and you improvise. You embrace the constant exchange of communication and one interaction at a time. You listen, respond, then listen and respond again. Being in the present moment is the gateway to conversational leadership. When you’re fully present, you’re able to process what is happening, why it is happening and when it is happening. You don’t reactively flee from pressure-instead, you use the razor’s edge to trigger you to higher states of focus and impact.

Leadership is conversation – whether we like it or not. The question is: What type of conversation we want it to be?     

Name:
Sandeep Patnaik

Title of the Blog:
Converse….Think ….Act..

About the author
I am an HR professional with more than three decades of experience in HR and Skill Development

Program attended with CTT
ACC

Reasons for taking the program
To evoke awareness about the potential of people and to transform them to the best version of themselves

What worked for you
Learning from Mentor coach and peers together with LMS helped me in my coach journey

What benefits you got
Understanding myself better