LEADERSHIP Series: Listening Critical to Effective Leadership

Listening to understand others and listening to one’s self (self-awareness) are each critical skills in effective leadership and exemplify a leader’s inquiry for and even a craving for, knowledge.

Leadership literature lights up when combining a “Google” search for listening with leadership and one very interesting link was to a research study submitted to the National Fire Academy as part of the Executive Fire Officer Program by a Battalion Chief from Sandy, Utah. Peter Drucker, in The Effective Executive (1966), and Stephen Covey, in Seven Habits of Highly Effective People (1977) are just two of the more well-known thinks who laid some crucial groundwork in the literature on leadership and listening.

Jeroen van der Veer, President of Royal Dutch and Chief Executive of the Royal Dutch/Shell Group, stressed to during a lecture at the Stanford Graduate School of Business the importance of listening skills to sustainable leadership. He urged the MBA students “to adopt a model of leadership that involves modesty, empathy, and reflective listening.”

He understood that one of the roles of leaders is to ask good questions and then listen to the responses. That takes time and is very different from “doing stuff” – but, in fact, it is the stuff of leading.

Do you take the time needed to listen?

It’s hard work, but leaders do it. Here are five listening tips:

• Pay close attention to the speaker. This does not mean to stare intently into their eyes as they speak. Mirror and match how they use their eyes: some glance about as they speak; others stare. People like people who are just like them. Match, but fix your attention upon them.
• If they ask you a question, give a direct, but quick answer and ask a question in response. This shows that you care about their opinion and people often ask questions of us because they have something to tell us about the subject.
• Be collaborative – seek their feedback - and follow up their feed back with action (send email, a Tweet) that demonstrates that you have thoughtfully considered their input.
• If a bad news “message” is being sent, listen to message – don’t think about the messenger. Leaders need to practice the body language that is open to critique, contrary opinion, or bad news. Listen and learn and seek the kernel of truth that may exist in every negative critique.

Proverbs 18:15 (AMP) The mind of the prudent is ever getting knowledge, and the ear of the wise is ever seeking (inquiring for and craving) knowledge.

Copyright© 2009 by P. Griffith Lindell