Many leaders claim to be too busy and ignore the big picture and the details of a project or team. But the reality is, if you don’t pay attention, you will be even busier putting out fires, losing top talent and customers, and negatively impacting performance and profitability.
Definition of Ignore by Oxford Languages: “Refuse to take notice or acknowledge; disregard intentionally; fail to consider; reject as groundless (legal).
To stop ignoring, you need to stop relying on excuses.
Instead:
- Be present.
- Facilitate tough conversations.
- Be proactive in developing and implementing the solutions for win-win-win outcomes.
While you cannot change the aftermath of the pandemic, economic upheaval, or industry changes, if you stop ignoring issues, you can influence and impact how you lead your teams.
5 Tips to Stop Ignoring What Needs to Be Changed
- Hiring the Right Person, the First Time. When you ignore or overlook best hiring and selection practices, you will keep hiring the wrong type of person who fails. This costs you retention, revenues, and results each time! Example: One employer, each year, told a hiring consultant, ‘This year we had 40% turnover from firing or people leaving. So now we’ve got the right team.’ This was the same explanation each year for three years! The bottom line: nothing changes unless you stop ignoring how you hire and address the core issues!
- Resolving Team Conflict. Neglecting to care for the team and their relationships and resources will erupt into team conflict. Take the time now to resolve disagreements, personality differences, and differing points of view. Stop hoping and praying it’ll go away on its own because it won’t! Examples: 1) If it is a perception issue, use a qualified job fit assessment, which objectively shows people’s differences. 2) If it’s an issue with a process or system, brainstorm solutions by ensuring every voice is heard. Yes, they both take time! But it saves hours, days, weeks, months, and yes, sometimes years when you address the issue and stop ignoring it.
- Train Your Team. With companies watching their bottom lines, training is the first item slashed. This is very short-sighted. Make sure training skills are not ignored. Reinforce listening, asking questions, critical thinking, emotional intelligence, mindfulness, and project/system design, to name a few. Ignoring these essential skills will cost you!
- Develop Yourself. All successful leaders have a coach! (Yes, reread if you don’t already have one!) Unfortunately, many current and future leaders don’t see the need to hire a coach, practice daily ‘soft skill’ training, or behave as participants in workshops with team members. However, when you reject the training and ignore its benefits, you will lose credibility and the ability to influence anyone, anywhere.
- Impact of Your Decisions. Being an ostrich and putting your head in the sand will only cause you to ignore the impact of your decisions. Instead, collect and use objective, reliable, and valid data and avoid relying solely on your feelings or gut. Otherwise, if you don’t, the negative impact on customers, employees, work teams, finances, systems, etc. etc. etc. will cause leadership and career derailment!
©Jeannette Seibly 2023 All Rights Reserved
Jeannette Seibly is The Leadership Results Coach. She’s celebrating 30 years as an award-winning international executive consultant, speaker, and business author. Her clients value the listening and positive difference she brings to any conversation. As a result, they can work through sticky situations and challenging relationships to become positive influencers. Contact Jeannette for a confidential discussion. PS: She’s also a three-time Amazon Best-Selling Author!
A note from Jeannette about ignoring situations, relationships, and results: Many leaders need to stop ignoring things they can and should impact. They will lose out on leadership and career opportunities if they don’t. Contact me to discuss what you’re ignoring and how to make the necessary changes. It’ll impact your ability to influence results and keep your job!
This week’s PODCAST: Listen to How to Be an Effective Advocate and Be Heard with my guest, Jill Tietjen, on The Entrepreneurial Leader.
NOTE: Do you have changes that need to be made but don’t know where to begin? I love coaching current and future leaders to support them in making important and strategic changes. Contact me if you want an in-depth, one-on-one hour over 13 weeks. It will accelerate your ability to influence others, coach your team for unprecedented results, and make changes that others applaud.