The Colonel said, “If you’re not listening, kiddo – you’re not leading.”
It’s so common to find ourselves listening with the intent to respond. We all do it. We script our “Yes, and…” or “Yes, but…” in our heads before the other person has even finished their sentence. Unfortunately, that all too often caused the other person to feel dismissed or glossed over when they are talking to you. That is not a path to significance.
In business, as in life, we automatically feel a bias toward people who we believe are listening to us. We also feel an unconscious prejudice against people who we think are not listening to us. We want that bias in our favor!
Active, empathetic listening involves turning off the chaos and the internal dialogue in your brain to focus entirely on what the other person is trying to communicate to you.
One of the most valuable significance skills we can possess is the ability to set aside our own agenda long enough to genuinely listen to someone else’s. This, more often than not, allows us to hear the message behind the words and more fully understand them and what they are feeling.
Long-term significance requires the ability to listen actively. So, next time you are listening to someone, turn off your internal dialogue, set aside your own agenda and listen actively.
Text SIGNIFICANCE to 411321 for Lauren’s White Paper: Leadership Accountability – It Starts With YOU.
Read Lauren’s Whitepaper on The Nine Essentials of Significant Leadership.
