“Rainy day people don’t talk they just listen ’til they’ve heard it all” – Gordon Lightfoot
Back in the late 90’s, I was a coach and facilitator for a worldwide training organization. My job involved networking and interacting with local Chambers.
One afternoon, I received a call from my boss. I was in trouble. Here is what happened: About three weeks before, I had written an article for the local Chamber of Commerce newsletter. Shamefully, I had procrastinated writing this article. With the deadline impending, I gave the OK to print the article. I did not proofread the article for Copyright standards as I should have done. My negligence created some fireworks. Bob, my boss, had received a call from another sponsorship in Oklahoma. They had read the article, and asked Don if he was aware that he was in violation. Bob was hit broadside. It was time to talk to Steve.
I’ll never forget how Bob began the call. He was calm and asked me about my family. He set a relaxed tone. Next, he related the phone call he had received. Once he did that, he asked a magic question: “And Steve, I just wanted to get your perspective on this…”
Perfect! He got everything he wanted. I knew what he was talking about. I told him it was a serious judgmental error on my part, I apologized, and I assured him it would not happen again. He was fine with that. I went back to work. The problem was solved. I never did that again.
I can’t help but imagine what would have happened if he had started out doing the talking. What if he would have said: “Steve, I got this call. Is that true. Really? What were you thinking? How could you embarrass me like that?”. For Bob, it wasn’t about him. It was about me. He knew that fine leaders know how to grow their people.
