1/22/2024 0 Comments Learn to be a good listener![]() Listening on the job is not only frequent, it is very important as well. Top executives spend even more time listening than other employees. ![]() Recent studies that focus on the workplace show that, on average, personnel at all levels spend about 32.7 per cent of their time listening while speaking takes up 25.8 per cent of their time and writing 22.6 per cent. Studies indicate that adults spend about 29.5 per cent of their waking hours listening. Listening is the most frequent, perhaps the most important type of on-the-job communication. The power of listening should never be underestimated and as the world begins to transition into a more remote capacity, being an effective listener will make or break the ability for leaders to lead.People spend doing just that – listening. In addition, listening leaders are considered to be better motivators a manager who listens to their employees’ views and concerns before giving feedback will be much better placed to do so than one who takes little interest in what their staff have to say. Leaders who have a preference for listening are shown to be much better at building long-term relationships with staff, as well as being more effective when it comes to encouraging collaborations and teamwork. These learned behaviors provide a gateway for staff and business leaders alike to learn from one another and encourage open communication. Learning when the appropriate times to coach and counsel are, and training oneself to not only listen but to appreciate the nuanced feelings and emotions in the room, will lead to more productive conversation and, ultimately, better leadership. Rather than attendees of a poor meeting shedding the bad experience at the door on the way out, it can instead stick with them and negatively impact them outside of the meeting room.įor business leaders, being an effective listener is one of the key foundation stones from which good leadership is born, both inside and outside the meeting room. This is what’s known as Meeting Recovery Syndrome, or MRS. Something as inconsequential as a single meeting can actually have devastating effects on company morale and overall staff wellbeing. Steven Rogelberg, concluded that more than 50% of Americans found that a poorly conducted meeting negatively impacts their productivity for the remainder of the day. Meetings MatterĪ study, conducted with Dr. The best listeners are the ones who develop these habits in listening, such as knowing the appropriate times to coach and when to counsel. Effective listening is an acquired skill, something that is either taught to you or learned through consistent practice. This is often as a result of the listener ‘deflecting’ and ‘advising’, which is when they shift the conversation to another topic and/or give advice that might actually come across as offensive rather than constructive. One thing that inexperienced listeners often do is coach in a situation where counseling might be more appropriate. In a similar vein, probing simply means asking for additional information and should be non-judgemental in nature to avoid disrespecting the speaker. To be an effective listener, showing the speaker that they have been heard and understood is paramount. ![]() This is so that the speaker knows what they’ve said has resonated and that the listener is interested. Reflecting means ensuring that the listener is always providing feedback to the speaker. Two of the pillars of effective counseling are ‘reflecting’ and ‘probing’. ![]() Coaching, on the other hand, helps to provide information that employees can use to improve their performance and skill. What’s the difference between counselling and coaching? For one, providing counseling helps staff address problems involving facets such as motivation, emotion, attitude, and personality. As a boss, what can you do? Well, when talking with employees and making an active effort to respond while listening, it’s imperative to also differentiate between situations that require coaching and those which require counseling, as these differing responses change the outcome of the conversation. Even this is often done incorrectly, though. The most skilled communicators work really hard to build up a repertoire of techniques that help to assist with ‘moving up the ladder’, one of which is the simple act of responding to the speaker. Step 3 is the highest level of listening, where the goal is to not only listen with interest but to understand the underlying feelings and thoughts behind the words. Step 2 is when the listener is listening with genuine interest to what the speaker is saying, however it requires the motivation and inherent desire to do so. Step 1 is considered the lowest form of listening, where the listener isn’t really thinking about what the speaker is saying, rather about the thing they want to say next. ![]()
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