This One Aspect Of Leadership Is The Most Important, Yet Highly Ignored
Active listening makes you a better, more compassionate leader. Yet it is one of the most highly ignored aspects of leadership. I’ve seen leaders who just give orders, and expect their team members to just follow them without giving their opinion. That’s the worst example of leadership they are setting.
Being a leader of a leading project management company, ProofHub, I don’t believe that authoritarian leadership is the way to move forward as a leader. Rather I believe a leader must master the art of active listening if he or she wants to drive success and build a team that sticks with the organization for years to come.
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But, how can you master the art of active listening. Well, here are some simple steps that helped me, and I’m sure they can be of great use to anyone who imbibes them in his or her life -
Don’t Just Hear; Focus And Listen
“When people talk, listen completely. Don’t be thinking what you’re going to say. Most people never listen. Nor do they observe.” — Ernest Hemingway has beautifully expressed these thoughts in his creation Across the River and into the Trees.
He further elaborates on the importance of active listening by stating “You should be able to go into a room and when you come out know everything that you saw there and not only that. If that room gave you any feeling you should know exactly what it was that gave you that feeling.”
The same goes with people. If you spoke with someone, you must pay attention to that person and try to understand what they are saying before making a judgement half way through.
Acknowledge; Don’t Interrupt
Use verbal nods when communicating with your team members, like ‘I see’, ‘Okay’, ‘Uh-huh’, to name a few. These are a great way to acknowledge that you are following the conversation and helps you keep your attention focused on the speaker, rather than on the voices that are constantly buzzing in your head.
Moreover, this ensures that you are communicating with the speaker without causing any interruptions, which is highly important.
Be mindful; leave judgements aside
It can be quite difficult for a speaker to express his or her mind when they know the other person is going to judge them. This is the reason that you as a leader need to build a rapport with your team so that they know they are not going to be judged based on their expression of opinion.
As a leader you need to be mindful to listen and understand beyond words. Focus on non-verbal cues such as expressions, gestures, and overall behavior of your team members. This is one of the most important aspects of active listening that is ignored, more often than not.
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Before You Act, Listen
Leadership is tough. Sometimes you are stuck in sticky situations; where you have to make tough decisions. To make sure that you are able to make the right decisions during those times, it is imperative that you listen, before you act and not the other way around. These three things I’ve mentioned above can help you achieve that. Implement them in your life to become not just a good listener, but a great leader as well.
All the best!!!
Author Bio:
Sandeep Kashyap is the Founder and CEO of ProofHub — a leading project management software. He’s one person always on a lookout for innovative ideas about filling the communication gap between groups, teams, and organisations. You’ll find him saying, “Let’s go!” instead of “Go!” many times a day. That’s what makes him write about leadership in a way people are inspired to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more. For more inspirational articles follow him on Linkedin.
Originally published at https://www.linkedin.com.
