Reasons our events are about listening rather than telling and definitely not panels

Brussels' policymaking space is a land of events. We host panels and pat ourselves on the back for recruiting high-level speakers who get 5 minutes to talk on a panel that we badly wanted to avoid having all men on.

The slides are densely worded and we’d rather talk about everything we are doing than to listen. Is this the best we can do in Brussels?!

Many of us in the EU policymaking space live in a sort of echo chamber—hearing the same ideas, opinions, and even our own self-doubts on repeat.

Sometimes all we need is a moment to be heard and have someone genuinely validate our experience. But as anyone who has worked in a stressful workplace knows, this can be hard to find.

That’s why, at “A Better Brussels,” we recently hosted three listening sessions rather than panel discussions with experts advising people what to do. We've been taking a step back before we do anything, asking ourselves what it would take to build better workplace cultures. 

• We know that we do not have all the answers. 

• We also know that we are talking about people’s experience at work, therefore, there is no single approach to building better workplaces. This also means that we need to hear directly from people what works best for them, rather than presuming we already know or simply deciding this is all we are going to do. I mean "mental health, schmental health, am I right?!"

• We knew we needed to create a space where people could tell their own stories, be heard, and know their voices mattered, rather than just being told so. That is why our listening sessions focused on understanding and affirming the experiences of those who do not frequently feel seen.

In these sessions, the burden of speaking up and listening did not fall just on those in power (that one Head of Brussels Office who shouldn't be a people manager but is and is really a Public Policy Director) and nor on those who are already struggling (that office manager who is also your HR person).

Instead, we created a space where everyone—bosses, interns, and those in between—could speak freely, without judgement, and with the goal of understanding and empathy.

And in a place like Brussels, where power reigns supreme, it's very difficult for many to admit that something isn’t right at work. 

When everything around us relies on keeping a small group, if not that one policy guru, happy, it can be difficult to see that the work environments where cliques, micromanagement, acting inconsistently, unpredictability and withholding resources are the norm do not enable people’s best work.

Will we see more listening sessions in Brussels? I don't know. I wish so.

And I guess this is how we build a better Brussels. Not with more speeches, but with more listening. Because when we listen we learn how to lead better.

Resources:

• End-of-year review conversation starters are here.

• Tools summarising the constructive feedback from our listening sessions coming Nov 25th will include:

• Report on “How can EU bosses better?”

• A reflective tool to help you gauge, “Am I a toxic boss or colleague” (more about reflection, not judgement).