All a leader needs to do is listen, and that simple act can help improve or even turn around an organization that needs change, according to Margot Murphy Moore, a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan School of Management.

Moore, president and chief strategy officer of Standard Homeopathic Company, is quoted in a recent blog posting at the school discussing the importance of listening and how it can encourage and inspire an organization to pursue needed change.

She advocates a simple “listening tour,” where an executive sits down with key players at an organization, one-on-one, and they are given the time to talk about the organization and what works, as well as what doesn’t.

“When you sit down with stakeholders individually, you find they often have greater insight than you expect into complex challenges and innovative solutions,” Moore is quoted in the blog as saying. “The issue often is not a lack of awareness about the source of a problem but multiple failures to act on that awareness.”

Moore said the simple act of listening to a stakeholder can reveal plenty, particularly whether an individual, perceptions or systems of operation are preventing the improvement an organization needs.

Check out the full posting – “Need to Turn Around an Organization? Turn Up Your Leadership Skills” – for Moore’s other listening-related tips and observations.