Raising Your Emotional Quotient (EQ)

Becoming a Curious Leader

By: Vaughn Troyer, President of Hummel

I was recently reading a book by Jim Collins, “How the Mighty Fall”. In it, Collins makes the case that a common theme his research team identified in declining companies is the existence of hubris in the top leadership. Leaders who believe they have all the answers and believe they are the reason for the success of their company are at risk of leading their organizations into decline. I believe one way hubris is displayed is the absence of curiosity and thus the lack of desire to better understand. These individuals lack self-awareness, are no longer learning and improving, and don’t have the curiosity to do so. Effective leaders of people need to have the curiosity of self-awareness. They should desire to better understand how they interact with the people they lead and to be better at these interactions.

Nurturer, Creator, Guardian, Connector, and Pioneer

Hummel is currently in the middle of a process that uses an assessment from GiANT Worldwide called 5 Voices.  5 Voices simplifies the Myers-Briggs personality types into five categories: Nurturer, Creator, Guardian, Connector, and Pioneer. No one category is considered the right way to lead, rather, it’s a self-understanding of how each of us communicate in our leadership role. Understanding our natural tendencies and the natural tendencies of our teammates can help us communicate more effectively and build stronger relationships within our teams.

We are a multi-generational company and were previously led by Bruce, Brian, and Barry Hummel. These gifted individuals had their own leadership “voices”, which may have differed from the voices of some of the leaders at Hummel now. As we have grown, we have tapped additional leaders to step into roles.  All of us have potentially different voices, and none of us will lead exactly like a predecessor did.  Understanding our voice and the voice of others gives us the confidence to lead in our own natural style.

If you look around your organization, you probably do not need to look hard to find a situation of one person being frustrated by another team member and venting “Why would they do that?” or “Why did they say that”? What they really mean is “That’s not how I would do it” or “That’s not how I would say it”, and frustration and conflict likely follow. Communication is hindered by leaders not understanding that my peer has a different voice than I do and thus we approach the situation differently. Understanding those differences changes how I react to that person’s comments or actions, changes my approach to a conversation with that person, and ultimately improves trust and the relationship.

No one category is considered the right way to lead.

One of the key strengths of a self-aware leader is the ability to understand their and their team members' strengths and weaknesses and utilize them to make the organization better. For example, a leader might excel in strategic thinking and decision-making. They surround themselves with other team members to complement their weaknesses in detailed planning or inspiring others. I have already seen the impact of leaders at Hummel better understanding their natural voice and changing conversations to turn conflict into better outcomes.

I hope each of you are curious, curious about yourself, about others, and about the industry you work in. Keep pushing yourself to better understand, and in doing so, I believe your organization will be rewarded when you become a better version of you.

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