by D. P. Noe

Created on: February 24, 2011

Listening is a skill all leaders need to have on their plate, it is the key component that gives leaders the inside edge to understand their employees and recognize and value the talent their staff wants to be recognized for. Listening is not a skill that comes easy, it takes the ability that you hear what the message is that the employee is communicating and showing the ability to understand what they are really saying.

Good leaders understand behaviors that need to be avoided so that they can become good listeners. There is nothing more annoying than an individual interrupting someone when they are speaking, good leaders know this is a behavior that will destroy effective listening from ever taking place. Effective listening includes showing respect for the individual that is speaking, even when they are different from you, their opinion and ideas still should hold weight. The best ideas often comes from individuals that surprise leaders with their creativity and suggestions.

Good leaders know that their staff want the leaders to show that they care about what goes on in their work environment. A big red flag is if employees are not communicating directly with the leader and seem to be avoiding interacting with them. This avoidance may be a signal that the leader is not an effective listener because employees believe their leader is not interested in them. Listening is the pathway to establishing an environment where individuals can communicate their concerns and share their ideas to change to make an organization better.

Good leaders have very busy and demanding schedules, but it is no excuse to tune people out when they are trying to speak to their leader. This is a destructive behavior that makes employees believe that their leader does not care about anything they have to say. Also beware of overtaking the conversation, good listening skills require to let the individual do most of the talking,  Leaders learn to bite their lips and let the employees share their ideas and give them the opportunity to share their thoughts.

Whenever the leader uses paraphrasing or summarizes what an individual said to them, these are examples of behaviors that let the employee know that their leaders understood what they said and that their leader was listening to them. Leaders can significantly improve their listening skills by adding the use of paraphrasing and summarizing to their daily routine.

Leaders need to stay clear of problem solving on the spot, there is a natural tendency that leaders believe they have to come up with answers for everything. When individuals are conversing with their leader, they are often just looking for the leader to take the time to listen to them, not come up with immediate solutions.

The importance of developing good listening skills as a leader will have a major impact on the success of a leader. Good leaders often learn their listening skills by watching other leaders who have shown excellent listening skills because they took the time time to enhance their own listening skills. The ability to engage their employees by developing good listening skills can make a good leader stand out from the rest and become a great leader.

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