LEARNING TO LISTEN

One the most powerful LEADERSHIP SKILLS i teach in leadership classes is: Listening Skill.

 

Listening is an art and it is imperative in leadership. It increases your capacity to read people and understand them deeply. When you talk, you only voice out what you already know. But when you listen, you have a chance to learn new things. To lead well, always find time and listen to people you lead – because when you do, you will hear what is not even spoken by mouth.

 

Leaders who do not listen to their followers will encourage them to be listening to others outside. When your listening ability is faulty, you will be taking decisions without considering the feelings of people. To be a good listener,

1. Show people you care about them and not just the work the         do for you.

2. Be patient with them when they are talking.

3. Control your emotion when they display outburst of any sort.

4. Remove anything that can cause you distraction during               important discussion.

5. Fix your eyes on the discussant always and never look away         at interval; it will betray their confidence in you.

6. Take note of specific mentioning of names, events, places etc.

7. Never make jugedgement quickly especially on issues that           bother on personal confession or admission of error.