The Mystery of the Front Row/Seat

This topic came to mind today while I was speaking to a class of high school Intro to Accounting students. Our conference room had seats for 25 people and the class had about 20 attendees. Can anyone guess which seats were empty? Correct, the ones towards the front. I want to delve into some thoughts and what it can tell us as leaders/coaches/teachers.

But first, let's look at the places where you see people always wanting to be in the front row and many times willing to pay any price to be there: a sporting event, concert, theatre performance, airplane, famous speaker, even in the car (hopefully you are not paying for that, just fighting for it!). Almost everyone wants the front seat or row in these situations. Why? First, you are paying for the seat, but again, why are you paying? Is it because (1) they want to be seen, (2) they want to ensure they hear/see everything they paid/came for, or (3) they really want to be unobstructed and free to learn or interact without distraction? I feel it is a little bit of all three, and if it is anything like the Iowa Hawkeye fan at the World Series Monday night, you could tell he wanted to be seen.

As a leader, here is where I am concerned, if you want this position when paying for it, why do so many NOT want that same seat/row at a presentation from an industry professional, at church, at a meeting at your children's school, at a meeting with your peers at work, etc. when it is free? These are much more important presentations than those you pay for.

Communication and engagement are the keys to learning and success, and it cannot be one or the other, it requires both. Those people that are willing to sit in the front row/seat at these types of "learning" events want the same as those that were paying above - (1) they want to be seen, (2) they want to ensure they hear/see everything they paid/came for, or (3) they really want to be unobstructed and free to learn or interact without distraction.

Today, in my presentation, I had questions from 3 people (1 student and 2 teachers) and none from anyone else. Do you know where they were sitting, in 3 of the 4 closest chairs to the front. After the meeting, I learned that the student in the 4th closest chair, really wants the opportunity to come in and job shadow because he has a strong intertest in learning more about the profession.

The moral of the story and why I shared it...you can tell by where your audience sits at these "learning" events to understands their level of engagement before you even start, and it gives you a clue of where you should put your focus during the event itself. Invest in the people willing to sit in the "front row" that want to learn, engage and be a part of your team.

So much more could be shared on this simple subject, but hopefully more people find their way to the front row and are willing to learn and row together.