What Do You Hear?
I was introduced to peer evaluations while attending the United States Military Academy. As a nineteen-year-old, I didn’t glean much from the experience. However, I distinctly remember the results and my follow-up discussion with our tactical officer. We were asked to rank our classmates from our company (floor) and identify five who we would qualify as the top leaders and five who would qualify as the bottom leaders. Reflecting on Kahneman’s Thinking, Fast and Slow, I realized that this type of activity had cognitive bias fingerprints written all over it. While I can’t tell you who I placed in the top five, it was more than likely my closest friends. The bottom five were likely those individuals I knew less about or was not interested in seeking and learning more about. Those in closer proximity would be at the top of the scale. All the names were kept anonymous.
During my follow-up meeting, Major Baldy, a 10-year career officer, shared the results with me. I was nervous as he said, “Mike, you did well in your peer evaluations. Eight of thirty-two of your peer group selected you in their top five. Overall, you were in the top 20%, and that’s solid.” That made sense, and I was a bit relieved, and then he continued. “However, one individual ranked you in their bottom five. What do you think about that?”
Completely stunned, I tried to dismiss it as a mistake or a statistic: “Sir, I imagine some of my peers don’t know or interact with me.” It was a complete misperception on my part. I didn’t have the maturity to respond well to the question and was trying to shrug it off. I could not effectively listen to his input and hear his follow-up message, even when coming from a seasoned and objective leader whose sole purpose was to develop young leaders. The sound was pure noise to my ears, and I did my best to drown it out and move on. I could not discern a critical voice in my young leadership journey.[1]
What Is That Sound?
In Jules Glanzer’s The Sound of Leadership, he introduces us to his Do-Re-Mi framework for leadership. This Christ-centered framework asks servant leaders to view leadership through an artistic and musical lens.
Glanzer outlines the framework for leadership with the following tones: Listen, See, Learn, Do, and Love. These words are the scale from which all leadership happens.[2]
As an operations leader, I have infrequently used the imagery of an orchestra and the combination of unique and harmonious sounds to produce a musical masterpiece within a warehouse environment. All employees participate as different sections but blend in ways where the result is a precise, beautiful, and extraordinary service for the customer. While an operation like this requires incredible effort, time, dedication, and commitment, the result can appear quite effortless to the casual observer. It is powerful, inspirational, and motivational for all engaged participants. Glanzer expresses a similar format as a leader practicing the acoustical art of leadership seeking to fine-tune the sound for a more harmonious rendition.[3]
Putting the Sections Together
Reflecting on my interaction with Major Baldy and my peer evaluation, I realized I missed the mark as an incredibly young leader in training. The opportunity to seek out, listen to, and understand what my peers had to share instantly would have complemented and completed the musical script. Instead, that orchestra section was completely missing, and I was left with the same comfortable section of horns delivering a familiar sound. That missed experience could have proven invaluable.
As I have matured and continue to rely increasingly on God’s voice, I have worked diligently to listen more frequently and objectively while inviting other unique or disparate voices to the table as situations dictate. Over time, those voices have transformed from initially what might have been pure noise into a more positive sound. I intentionally allow these sounds to invade my psyche and reverberate to inspire and equip me to be a better leader.[4]
Glanzer’s complementary emphasis on incorporating solitude and silence as a regular discipline also encouraged me. He shares that in today’s environment, “The noise, hurry, and the crowd’s voice easily keep me from leading from a divine center.”[5] I need to lean into this practice and become more balanced. I have taken advantage of these moments during job transitions but must regularly apply them in my leadership practices.
[1] Glanzer, Jules. The Sound of Leadership: Kingdom Notes to Fine Tune Your Life and Influence, (Plano, TX: Invite Press, 2023), 12.
[2] Glanzer, 2.
[3] Glanzer, 72.
[4] Glanzer, 89.
[5] Glanzer, 115.
About the Author
Michael Hansen
5 responses to “What Do You Hear?”
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Good reminder, Michael. Listening is an art, and we as leaders should continue to cultivate the practice amidst the “noise.” Thank you.
Alex, I envision that active listening is multi-dimensional – God first and then the voices (sound) of other stakeholder contributions to follow in different formats. When I think about incorporating the music of others into our daily composition – what does that look like? I know some exchanges with my team members sometimes don’t resonate well (both the sound AND feeling). I hope that with time, I have become more personable and Christ-like with my responses despite the circumstances.
On man, I would have responded very much like you did to your Major, if I was confronted with someone seeing me as in-the-bottom at those early years of life. It seems as if we know less and are made more humble with every year that passes. But it only feels this way. In reality, life looks much more like an orchestra of many parts verses the solo performance of my youth.
Solitude and silence have appealed lately to my soul. The absence of sound and distraction is often the only place I can clearly hear my spirit the Holy Spirit. Like you, I do not practice it enough and would like to find the balance of hearing the Spirit.
Jess,
All this reading and exploration of the brain and pre-frontal cortex development brought this experience to the forefront. I was too young, immature, and likely in a hurry to even give a moment to further unpack his statement. That is way before the age of continuous distraction. I didn’t even have a computer in my room (say old).
Solitude and silence are critical to maintaining and, hopefully, improving spiritual, mental, physical, and emotional health. I don’t see many weeks when I ask for more sounds to be introduced into the flow.
I firmly believe that is one key reason leaders suffer and subsequently fail. In the last nine months, I have witnessed 40% of my peers at our company transition out. They could not lead from a position of wellness or well-being, and a few have simply dropped their keys and left.
Hi Mike,
My first reaction after reading your post was wondering whether you ever found out why you were in someone’s bottom 5.
I’m curious because I think about the well-differentiated leader we’ve been discussing recently.
Sometimes someone else’s opinion of us doesn’t reflect our identity, but their emotional state. Maybe one person simply doesn’t like you for a very good reason (by good, I mean for something about you that shouldn’t change).
On the other hand, it could be very good and legitimate feedback that is worth knowing about.
Did you ever find out?