Leaders must realize that active listening often brings better results than excessive talking. When you are talking, you are not understanding what is going on around you. Leadership requires knowing and understanding the situation, and it does not require you to become an expert at how your own voice sounds. Active listening is about observing cues and body language of the person who is talking, and it requires you to fully focus, not to prove how well you multi-task.
I believe in listening and have never believed that unwarranted talking will gain you any more traction in the goals you want to achieve. It is often the quiet leader that accomplishes more rather than the excessive talker who fails to recognize the real problem. I recommend that all leaders take deliberate action in listening to others before talking because, for example, this is where meetings get derailed and never accomplish their intended purpose.
By embracing the following suggestions on active listening, you can begin to take action on real issues impacting your business:
- By listening, you will learn more. When you are talking, you can’t absorb what is going on around you. Your team members have much to share especially on what is working well and what is not working. You can easily figure out details about your business by being patient enough to just listen to their concerns. The key is to have a great attitude and listen actively.
- Your team members often just want to be heard. Frustration can be a significant factor to lost productivity. By listening to your team members who may be dealing with a frustrating problem, you can begin to eliminate the obstruction in order to gain back that productivity. Often just listening to the problem is enough to eradicate the situation.
- Follow up and take action. Issues you learned about through your new listening focus may have an impact on your business. Take action on those issues that have the greatest impact to your key metrics and for productivity gains. Taking action will convey to your team that you are listening and you want to resolve the problems.
Leaders at all levels should be engaged in active listening rather than excessive talking. Listening invites reflection and decision making from a rational standpoint instead of just reacting to the situation. In my own development, I have improved my listening skills to become a better leader. Listening involves understanding the problem and understanding how the problem strategically, operationally and tactically affects your business.
If you make listening and observation your occupation, you will gain much more than you can by talk. – Robert Baden Powel, senior British Army officer
How are you using active listening to become a more influential leader?
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Copyright 2016 – Stephen McLain