When you think of a strong leader, what skills come to mind? For many, it’s traditional leadership skills such as effective communication, strategic thinking, decision-making, emotional intelligence, conflict management, the ability to motivate others, resilience, and using influence to lead.
While these are certainly necessary components of a skilled leader, one critical skill is often overlooked: listening. Great leaders will tell you one of the more impactful elements of their leadership is learning to listen to those around them. By actively honing listening skills, leaders can open an arsenal of benefits such as understanding different perspectives, tapping into great ideas at all levels, allowing employees to feel seen and heard, and boosting collaboration and engagement.
As with any leadership skill, listening must be developed and actively practiced over time. Intentionality is key. Without a keen focus on listening, it’s an easy skill to dismiss, especially in comparison to the other skills and competencies needed to succeed. I would argue, however, that the more time and emphasis you place on listening, the more your culture and performance will benefit.
In his bestselling book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Steven R. Covey covered the topic of listening as a leadership trait quite extensively with the mantra of “seek first to understand, then to be understood.” Yet, research from Wright State University shows listening is still under-practiced in business, with the average person listening at only about 25% efficiency. In addition, the Global Listening Centre reports most leaders think they are better listeners than they are, even though listening is crucial to producing desirable outcomes in organizations where employee motivation impacts performance.
If you are a leader who seeks to strengthen your listening muscles as a way to create a stronger culture, you can do so in the following ways.
Listen at All Levels. Effective listening begins with ensuring you hear multiple voices and perspectives throughout your organization and across your network. For some leaders, this can be difficult as you interact most with your leadership team.
One way to listen at all levels is to acknowledge that, yes, as a leader, you can easily default to being the one who is speaking. Flip the script. Use this power for good and encourage others to speak up, share their thoughts and participate more. Listen first and speak last. In turn, you’ll naturally have more listening time. This form of listening promotes inclusivity and wellness across the board.
Identify and connect with a few people across your organization that do not report to you. Develop a relationship with them and begin having earnest conversations about the culture you are leading and what they contribute. Consider how you can inspire and empower your leadership team to do the same
Listen to External Trends. It is not always enough to listen to the people around you, your peers, or experts in your field. It’s essential to listen to the external trends outside of your industry and discern what’s coming down the pipeline that could affect your organization, teams, and culture. Did The Great Resignation impact you? Were you prepared for team members leaving your organization? Were you prepared to make attractive offers to the limited number of people that applied to open roles within your company. By listening to external trends, you can plan for what may affect your company, your teams, and the culture. Share what you find with others, and listen to their points of view and potential solutions.
Be Present. In an era of constant distractions and notifications, it is difficult to be present. An act of effective leadership can be tuning out the noise, if only for moments at a time. When someone is speaking, turn your complete focus on that person. What are they saying? What are they not saying? What’s the story that they’re telling themselves? Are they focused on the right things? By listening with full attention, leaders can better read between the lines to understand the whole picture.
Inspire Others to Listen More Effectively. Of course, the best way to do this is to model effective listening yourself. Beyond this, creating a culture where listening is valued and appreciated is also necessary. Are team members encouraged and supported to contribute within and outside of their teams? Are there bi-directional opportunities for the leadership team and the teams of their peers to be exposed to each other? What are the opportunities to be exposed to the micro-cultures of other teams? Do they have a way to actively share ideas or concerns with others besides their immediate team or boss? Take a look at the existing infrastructure and culture to ensure there are opportunities to speak and listen for all.
Bottom line: listening, when done well and genuinely, can strengthen your posture as a leader, motivate your team and promote a positive culture where more voices are heard.