Use Raffle Listening: Focus on Focus

We have all been to a raffle! When it comes time to draw a name or ticket number, even the biggest blabbermouth present will stop verbosity to hear the verdict. Great mentors get focused and stay focused. When listening is their goal, they make it the priority. They do not let anything distract. A wise leader once said, “There are no individuals at work more important to your success than your employees—not your boss, not your customers, not your vendors. When an employee needs you to listen, pretend you just got a gift of five minutes with your greatest hero. For me, it’s Abraham Lincoln.” What a great concept! Think about it. If you could have five minutes—and only five minutes—with Moses, Mozart, or Mother Teresa, would you let a call from your boss, your customer, or anyone eat up part of that precious time? Treat your employees with the same focus and priority.

“Hold my calls,” “Let’s get out of here so we can really talk,” or “Tell him I’ll have to call back,” are words that telegraph noise management. They say to employees, “What you have to say is so important that I don’t want to miss a single word.” If you cannot give employees the “I’ve got five minutes with Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey, or Billy Graham” kind of focus, postpone the encounter until you can. It’s better to say, “Jill, I want to give you my undivided attention. But I’m two hours from a crucial meeting and, to be perfectly honest, I would be giving you only half my attention. Can we schedule this later today when I can really focus?”