Really Hearing Your Employees

Cathie Leimbach • February 19, 2022

Human beings need to have a purpose, they need to matter. When we feel irrelevant or unimportant our energy and commitment tank.  We accomplish less. We are less kind and less patient.  When we are heard, when someone pays attention to our emotions, our actions, our experiences, or our suggestions, we feel valued. We feel that we have worth as a person. 


Everyone experiences not being heard. The one not hearing us may be our child, partner, friend, neighbor, acquaintance, teacher, doctor, customer, employee, colleague, boss, or stranger. If an acquaintance or stranger doesn’t notice us or listen to us, it is usually not a big deal. They aren’t part of our daily life so we have no need to be valued by them. But when we feel undervalued by members of our household, our close social circle, or a colleague who is important to our workplace success, the quality of our life is impacted.


Employees may be excited to tell their boss they have finally mastered a key task, but we don’t take two minutes to hear about it and acknowledge their success. They may be struggling to understand an assignment, be completely stuck on the next step, need a technology upgrade to handle the current volume of work, or have an innovative idea that could enhance productivity and the bottom line, but we don’t listen to their bottlenecks and provide the support that would help them achieve company goals. Your team member may wish to ask if they could do their end-of-day paperwork remotely the week their children’s after-school babysitter is on vacation.  Perhaps it would be a relief if they could come in half-an-hour later the week their take-the-kids-to-school carpool parent recovers from surgery. How open are we to helping reduce their anxiety so they can be more focused at work?


The job of supervisors and managers is to help their employees be successful. When we don’t take time to hear them out, to consider their requests and their ideas, we become their biggest bottleneck. You may not realize that as leaders, we control 70% of the factors that affect our team’s performance. Yes, our employees only control 30% of the factors that impact their results.  Some research suggests that employees might control as little as 20%!  How intentional are we about reducing the bottlenecks that our employees can’t control?


When employees incorrectly interpret our instructions regarding an urgent assignment, the emergency gets worse. If a virus or software update prevents them from doing important computer work, we may want them to focus on another high priority task.


When they figure out a way to improve results by tweaking a standard procedure, we might want to listen when they try to tell us about it before they teach their more successful method to everyone in two departments. When we suddenly assign an urgent task to busy experienced employees without helping them reprioritize their normal critical responsibilities, we are setting them up for failure. 


Results-oriented employees seldom make excuses. If they say ‘but’ they are likely about to share a real bottleneck – a challenge they don’t know how to solve. They are interested in both the company’s success and their personal reputation and they are trying to figure out how to accomplish the increased workload or which tasks can be rescheduled or put on the back burner.  As leaders, we need to be thankful they are sharing their concerns with us and asking for help. In a few minutes, we may be able to put their mind at ease so they can focus on the priorities at hand.  Without our help, their mental overwhelm or under-informed decisions may negatively impact the speed and accuracy of their work for days. 


When we make a habit of not listening to employee concerns or not considering their ideas, they often feel that we don’t want them to be their best, to solve problems, or improve performance. They stop asking questions to clarify expectations and understand the context of their work. They stop trying to engage or innovate. They stop trying to be open, honest, and collaborative.  Eventually, they decide to either cope with their workplace disappointments or join the great resignation. 


Leaders have the greatest impact on employee retention. Our job is to equip and support our employees for success, not to spur failure and disenchantment. It is important that they feel valued for sharing their challenges and ideas for improvement. We have to ensure they feel heard. 


What is one thing you can do differently to help your employees feel heard? 

“All Good” is Never a Good Response

By Cathie Leimbach • October 6, 2026
“All good,” they said. But Sarah wasn’t so sure. In the team meeting, just two people did most of the talking. Team members who once offered ideas just waited for the meeting to end. Three people called in 'sick' on the day of our monthly planning and progress-review meeting. Today was just another day with her disengaged team. Sarah realized that whenever she asked others how things were going, she got the same response: “All good.” It never failed that within a day or two of what seemed like positive feedback, a problem surfaced. It might be that they didn't know how to proceed with a new project. Or they were trying to hide a mistake they made. Things definitely were not "All Good". Then, she thought about the questions she usually asked. “Everything on track?” “Will that be ready by Friday?” She wanted to know how her people were progressing with their work. But she had asked closed-ended questions, so she got brief responses that told her nothing. At her next one-to-one, she asked, “How have things been for you lately?” “Fine. Busy.” She almost moved on. But, instead, she dug a bit deeper. “What’s been making things especially busy?” This time, the answer was different. There were competing demands she hadn’t known about. A concern that had gone unspoken. And a feeling that nobody really talked anymore unless they needed help with something urgent. This one conversation provided important information. It gave her a place to start moving forward to improve engagement and results. If you can relate to Sarah's struggles, here are some tips to help you stay on top of how your employees' work is truly going. Absenteeism and disengagement can have many causes. We can't begin to understand them by accepting thoughtless answers. We need to create an environment where people feel comfortable sharing what’s really happening. Interpersonal rapport is essential. It grows through small moments: asking a thoughtful question, listening without rushing to solve a concern, remembering what someone said, and checking back. This week, try asking a couple of specific open-ended questions such as: “What’s been going well for you?" And "What’s been difficult?” Let the answers guide your next questions. Give the person room to share. Then, a few days later, follow up. “You mentioned the client report deadline was going to be hard to meet. How’s it going?” Then, "What help do you need?" When you take a few minutes for such check-ins, employees feel more supported than if you just ask, “How are you?”, as you are walking by. It indicates: I heard your concern. I remembered. I’m interested. I want you to succeed. Your team members are more likely to get involved, be honest with you, and share ideas when they feel heard and connected to the people they work with. Want to get more comfortable starting those conversations? Join our Workplace Conversations Clinic on October 19 to practice building interpersonal rapport through conversations that matter.  Reserve your place → [registration link]

Same Conversation, Different Expectations: Why One-on-Ones Need a Clear Close

By Cathie Leimbach • September 29, 2026
Jason left his one-on-one feeling encouraged. His supervisor, Ellen, had listened as he described competing deadlines and his interest in becoming a team leader. They talked about the possibility of shifting some of his workload. Ellen also suggested that training might help him prepare for a leadership role. "Let's work on that," she said. Jason thought help was coming. Ellen thought Jason would bring her a plan. Two weeks later, the deadlines were closer. Nothing had been reassigned. Neither had looked into training. During their next one-on-one, Ellen asked how things were going. "I'm still waiting to hear which project you want me to focus on," Jason said. "I thought we agreed that you would work that out." "And the leadership training?" "Did you find a course?" Jason paused. "I thought you were going to recommend one." They had discussed the same topics. They had left with different expectations. Neither intended to let the other down. But they hadn't agreed on who would do what, or when. Turn a Good Conversation into Clear Next Steps Listening matters. So does what happens after you listen. Before you end your next one-on-one, take a few minutes to make sure you and your employee understand what comes next. Talk about priorities. If everything can't be done at once, agree on what comes first. Ask what might get in the way, and what support would help. Make room for professional growth, too. What does the employee want to learn? What responsibility would they like to prepare for? Identify a step you can each take to move that development forward. Then write down your agreements. Keep the notes simple: what needs to happen, who will do it, and by when. Include your own commitments. Putting It Into Practice Ellen and Jason tried again. "The client proposal comes first," Ellen said. "I'll talk with Marcus today about taking over the weekly report. By Friday, I'll let you know whether he can." "I'll find two leadership courses before our next meeting," Jason said. "Then we can talk about which one fits." Both Jason and Ellen knew what to do next. The following week, both reported their findings and they made decisions on how to move forward. Jason’s work became more aligned with Ellen’s departmental goals. Jason felt valued and appreciated. Their weekly one-to-ones became the backbone of their workplace success. Want to Make Your Workplace Conversations More Productive? Join us for the Workplace Conversations Clinic on October 19 . Bring a conversation you want to handle more effectively, and let's work on making the next steps clear. Register Here