The Importance of Listening
Posted by admin on Jan 20, 2012 in leadership, The Voice | 0 comments
Leaders listen.
I mean, leaders really listen.
I think that I knew this, but I did not fully internalize how important this was until recently. The other day I was speaking with someone about an interaction they had with a top-level leader. This particular person was so frustrated by the fact that he felt like he had not been listened to at all. He felt like the top-level leader was just going through the motions of “giving someone the opportunity to have their voice heard” but they never really listened. And that one interaction completely changed the outlook and relationship from this person to the top-level leader.
Even if someone has amazing leadership abilities in every other area – their lack of listening is going to hamper everything else they do. It hurts credibility. It hurts authenticity. It hurts relationships. It hurts absolutely everything.
Leaders listen. Leaders listen so that others feel important. Leaders listen so that they can help create new leaders to come after them. Leaders listen because good ideas can come from anywhere. Leaders listen because it is respectful, appropriate, and kind.
You might be an incredible leader at everything.
But do you listen?
