By Lisa Hochgraf I’ve been thinking a lot about something Joe Toochin said in his Credit Union Management profile article, after being named the 2009 CUES Director of the Year. Vice chairman of the board of $2.9 billion United Nations Federal Credit Union, Long Island City, N.Y., Toochin said that a key to being a successful credit union director is being a good listener. His thought was that good listening would facilitate productive discussions and, in turn, worthwhile action. Here I am in Scottsdale, Ariz., at CUES Symposium: A CEO/Chairman Exchange. Yesterday's general session speaker, Michael Useem, used case studies, then asked attendees to respond. Listening came up as a key factor in one of them. The scenario was this: IBM bought out Lotus in June 1995. Louis Gerstner, then CEO of IBM, was in front of the employees of Lotus. He made his speech, trying to put people at ease, show understanding of the differences in culture between the two companies, and set the vision for the acquisition. When he opened the floor to questions, a Lotus employee asked him: “When it comes time for our next annual meeting here in Cambridge, Mass., will you come and will you wear a woman’s dress?” It could have been tempting to ignore the question, said Useem, the William and Jacalyn Egan professor of management and director of the Center for Leadership and Change Management at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School. “Who is this guy?” and “Oh man, our cultures are too different, I should never have bought this company” could have been the first thoughts in Gerstner’s mind, Useem noted. But answering that employee's question well--on the spot--would have much to do with the feeling all the Lotus employees would take away from the meeting. Answering the question well required Gerstner to really hear the question—to listen—and show his readiness to respectfully work with the Lotus employees. With that-set up, CUES Symposium attendees posited these possible responses Gerstner could have used to show good faith and listening: What did the CEO of IBM say? “Yes. If you give me 20 percent growth in the next year, I’ll wear anything you want.” When have you had to listen carefully lately? Have you had to listen under pressure? Were you successful in your effort to be a good listener? How did listening well pay off? Lisa Hochgraf is a CUES editor.
