Most great leaders that I’ve encountered are astute observers of their environment. They are good at reading people and situations, and they apply the insights gained through observing to improving their performance as leaders and to navigating the ever-present corporate politics.

We spend a great deal of time helping individuals develop their skills as speakers, but when was the last time that you attended a workshop on improving your observation skills?

We also spend a great deal of time in our corporate lives struggling and striving to be heard and somewhere along the way, many of us forget how important it is to shut up, listen and importantly, to observe.

Watch, Listen and Learn:

  • People communicate more non-verbally than they do verbally. Study people over time in different settings and situations and you’ll gain an understanding of what’s important…what’s core and what’s context to them.  We’re remarkably expressive and amazingly open in what we show about our true feelings and opinions. Fortunately or unfortunately, most people are busy either listening to our words or ignoring us completely.
  • Everyone has a tell. Actually, we all have multiple tells that describe to careful observers when we’re stressed, when we’re out of our comfort zones and when we believe to our core in what we are expressing.  Good observers notice the dissonance between the verbal and non-verbal messages and use this insight to probe and gain clarity.
  • Good observers develop an understanding of what’s truly important to a person, and good leaders use this insight to develop authentic connections with their team members and colleagues.

5 Suggestions for Improving Your Power of Observation:

1. Spend time in meetings carefully observing people talking. Note their habits, body language, gestures, how they handle questions and objections and even where they sit and what their posture says about them.

2. Spend time in meetings watching how others react to those speaking. What’s not said, but shown by the other participants in the meeting, speaks volumes about the status of the speaker.

3. Find ways to test your observation hypotheses. I always look for the quietest people in the room during creative or brainstorming meetings and seek them out after the event to attempt to discover what great ideas might have been lost to a doodle on a note-pad due to an individual’s shyness or evaluation apprehension.

4. Find ways to test your hypotheses, part 2. Don’t assume that you’ve suddenly received Holmes-like powers that allow you to draw remarkable conclusions from momentary observations. Use your powers of observation as a means of strengthening another important ability: the art of asking questions. Observations are raw materials for questions.

5. Watch other leaders carefully. Find one that you deem particularly good and study how she conducts herself in various situations. What impact does she have on people? Why is her presence strong and positive? How does she conduct herself to convey respect, show interest and command authority without invoking authority? Do the same for those leaders that you don’t hold in high regard and compare and contrast your observations.

The Bottom-Line for Now:

The old mantra of “seek first to understand and then be understood” is priceless advice for all of us. Spend time developing as an “active observer” and you’ll gain some remarkable insights into people, their motivations, their fears and their passions. Fail to develop as an observer and you’re at risk of just being part of the noise in your workplace. “It’s elementary, my dear Watson.”