More Answers... (10/5/25 Newsletter): Not as Good as the Rolling Stones... (but still...)

I never thought of myself as a Rolling Stones fan, but in my early 20s they had a big resurgence and I realized I knew almost all their songs. Were they THAT ubiquitous? Or was I actually a fan and I didn't know it...  

Hi Everyone, 

Here's your Sunday Evening "More Answers..." to help you head into the work week-- remember, you can see previous newsletters at https://www.askchrista.com/blog/, and all topics are related to the many advising and messaging exchanges I've had each week!

Tonight’s topic? Listening Tours. Even 10 years ago, no one talked about them, but they've been around for a while are one of the most powerful and underutilized leadership tools in the workplace.

In fact, let's call them "Visibility Tours," because you don't need to be a leader to have them (just to be accountable for something a lot of people are contributing to), and they're more about visibility than anything else: the accountable party being visible to the team, and the team being visible to the accountable party.

The key factor MUST be about listening, though-- on both sides.

And no, it doesn’t have to be a literal tour — it’s a mindset and process for learning through listening.

Purpose, Purpose, Purpose...

Let's start with what Listening Tours are and what they're intended to do.

If you're an accountable party in charge of a deliverable where at least two people are contributing to the deliverable, would it be helpful to see and understand the world they work in? Understanding what may be hindering their progress or accelerating their wins? Watch how things happen? Seeing with your own eyes and hearing with your own ears (absent of any bias you may have) what is getting done, when, and how?  

IMPORTANT: this isn't to micro-manage or adjust or criticize, it's to receive and fully walk a mile in their shoes so you can be a better and more effective CHAMPION of their work.

Listening tours are designed to meet with a variety of those involved in the success of what you are held accountable to deliver. They are most often performed by new leaders to listen to employees as a means to ramp up on understanding how things work (or don't) through the eyes of those actually doing the work (Season 4's theme!). 

However, they can be done any time an accountable party needs to better understand perspectives, experiences, priorities, and (a-hem) feelings. I say that last part because as good humans, we still do a lot of everything during our days because of how we feel, and when we tap into that, we can stifle or unleash the best in us.

Listening tours can expand into peers, customers, or other stakeholders also. It's about getting in touch and deepening ways of understanding how things are to assure they can remain good (or great!)

Traits needed? Curiosity is key, as is the ability to actively listen and masterfully probe. When done well, they create a rich foundation for trust that enhances collaboration and mutual respect (Kotter, 2021).

Employees (or those speaking) are the stars, not the leader (or those listening)...

Listening tours are for the benefit of the bigger picture.

And the speakers-- not the listener-- are the most critical factors to a successful Listening Tour, so if your leader announces a Listening Tour, that’s your cue to prepare thoughtfully (and selfishly).

• Prepare with purpose that's aligned to the purpose. Appropriate Listening Tours will provide (upfront) the purpose, objectives or how the information will be used, and scope or what the topics will encompass. Prepare, prepare, prepare.
• Use the structure that is provided to you. If you are invited to a Listening Tour that does not offer prompts for how to shape and size your feedback, then ask for it. "Hi, I noticed the Listening Tour is really open-ended, asking us to talk about what is working and not working. I want to be mindful of time; should we be talking about sticking points we think best/worst impact our customers? Should we be focused on one area we think could create sizable breakthroughs to make things better?"
• Check in with yourself: are you open to being in a Listening Tour? There are times when a Listening Tour can be a wildly engaging, encouraging, uplifting and powerful. They can deeply connect employees to leaders and to each other in a way that inspires and creates a sense of mission like no other time. (there are also times when they may feel performative, empty, and out of touch) Overall, Listening Tours do what they are intended to do, but you need to be in the right frame of mind to get the most out of them.

Research on leader–member exchange, which is one of my favorite organizational theories, shows that early relational development directly predicts trust, engagement, and long-term performance (Graen & Uhl-Bien, 1995). This is done through the exchange or listening and dialogue, which is what Listening Tours are all about.

Listening Tours: Getting Them, Doing Them (and examples)

If your organization hasn’t tried one, but you think they should: ask.

Use the same structure you might use when proposing any organizational change:

• Frame the value. Listening Tours build alignment, reduce turnover, and accelerate good decisions.

• Propose a pilot. Start small and think of it as a tester-example. Maybe there is a “listening week” in your team or function, and if you're an accountable party, start with you.

• Offer to help. Volunteer to coordinate sessions, questions, or synthesis.

• Share examples. Leaders act faster when they see credible peers doing the same.

Speaking of sharing examples, there are a few recent examples you can learn about to structure the sell:

• IKEA’s CEO Transition: Incoming leaders launched a months-long listening tour to engage employees worldwide before strategic changes.

• USFDA's Listening Tour: Senior FDA leadership is meeting biotech and pharma CEOs to gather input on modernizing regulation.

• Various Retail Leaders' Listening Tours: Several new retail CEOs are touring stores to listen to frontline employees and customers during market transitions.

BOOSTER FOR YOUR WEEK!!!  

Good Listening Media about Listening!! 

I'm dropping another video from Communication Coach Alexander Lyon, whose work in effective communication offers various tips and techniques rooted in applied research (research intended for use in the real world) and small enough to make big changes fast.  

His guest is Julien Mirivel, PhD, who studies positive communication.

This video is part of a larger series that includes How to Ask Better Questions and How to Encourage Others. I have not reviewed these videos, but given the quality of his work, I encourage you to test them out to see if they will help you with any communication goals you may have. 

Enjoy!

And remember, if you have a business challenge or workplace issue... Ask Christa! 

REFERENCES

Faughnan, M. (n.d.). The power of the listening tour. Harvard Business Publishing. https://www.harvardbusiness.org/the-power-of-the-listening-tour

Graen, G. B., & Uhl-Bien, M. (1995). Relationship-based approach to leadership: Development of leader–member exchange (LMX) theory of leadership over 25 years: Applying a multi-level multi-domain perspective. Leadership Quarterly, 6(2), 219–247. https://doi.org/10.1016/1048-9843(95)90036-5

Kotter, J. P. (2021). Change: How organizations achieve hard-to-imagine results in uncertain and volatile times. Wiley.