by Siti Ibrahim

Created on: June 25, 2009   Last Updated: July 20, 2009

Managers must listen. They cannot escape this process. They must be active and effective listener; to understand their people well and to become an effective manager. First and foremost, managers must know to differentiate between hearing and listening.

Let us go to the basic understanding. What is hearing and listening? Hearing is a physical ability and listening is a skill. As a manager, you must master that skill. Remember, good listening is actually built on three basic skills: attitude, attention or focus, and adjustment or agreement. Basic listening is actually absorbs the meanings of words and sentences by the brain which leads to the understanding of facts and ideas. At this moment, you must be attentive, adhering to the task at hand and focus your thoughts on that particular issue. Though, it's not easy to transform to be a good listener, but, it is not impossible. And it is not an overnight process; all you need is to practice.

Keep in mind, when your people are communicating 'something' to you, there must be an issue. And as a manager, it is your responsibility to attend to those issue; immediately and professionally. In real working environment, this is the first stage of listening and a signal that listening process is now to be started.

So, now you have to attend to the issue. Firstly, listen to the overall aspects and the problems that arise. Listen and focus for facts. Other than facts can be considered as opinion. Opinions are good but you need to filter it and this can be done later after you have listened to the overall issues. If you are engaged in an international organization, definitely you are dealing with people who have different culture and speak different language; not the same as your native language; in this situation, you must try to grasp the meaning and the gist of the conversation rather than thinking the words or phrases that they are using. If you still do not understand, tell the person or say it in another way or make use of your best guess and sense. If you are incorrect, the person will likely to correct them immediately. So, in other words, verify your understanding of their messages.

Secondly, don't find fault or distracted the person who is talking to you, even you find it is a minor or a boring issue. Respect them. Let them talk. Don't show that you are not interested. Avoid looking at your watch or doing other activities / things. Respond with questions, gestures and words that demonstrate; you are listening to them. Watch the person's face, eyes and body language. Their body language will communicate different things, often are more accurate than their words. As a manager, you should know that!

Lastly, understands the overall issue or message. Once you have gathered all the facts and opinions, you may respond now to the issue. You got two choices; you can immediately respond to the issue or if there are any clarifications to be made, and then you must tell the person politely that you will come back to him/ her after getting some additional information and solution to their issue. Don't forget to thank them for rising up the issue.

Now, you have been a good listener. You have all the facts in hand, and if the issues are serious, you need to act immediately. You are now ready to use all the other management skills and tools you have, to solve the issue. This time you won't be wrong, you have done your effective listening, grasp all the facts with accuracy; searched all the additional information related to the issue, and finally, you will make a better judgment.

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