Give Them Your Good Ear
Listening is something that people take for granted. While many people feel it is a passive activity, nothing could be further from reality. Listening is a dynamic activity requiring close attention, an understanding of the communication process and active participation. The following spells out the reasons an organization should create a culture that highlights this skill and cultivates its benefits.
L = Legendary status. Individuals who hone their listening skills have the potential to be excellent team members, exceptional candidates for leadership and superb providers of service. Organizations that embrace a listening culture will become employers of choice in today?s tight labor market, increase their employee retention rate, improve the quality of their product and develop a reputation for legendary customer service.
I = Information. A listening organization is smarter. Individuals need direction, departments need goals, customers need information, decision makers need intelligence, and leaders need ideas. To make good decisions, to take advantage of diversity, to tap into creativity and increase the competence of each individual, information must pass through all levels of the organization. This can be accomplished through active listening.
S = Satisfaction. Employee satisfaction leads to loyalty and retention. Customer satisfaction results in revenue. There is no doubt that one is related to the other. An individual who gets the undivided attention of another feels more important and more human. A good listener provides a forum for the ego and food for the soul.
T = Time. There is an old saying that there is always time to do it over, but never time to do it right. Time is wasted when an organization suffers through misunderstandings because someone wasn?t listening, when it corrects work done improperly because someone got only half the message or when it deals with frustrations and potential disasters created by a lack of attention. If people are encouraged to attend carefully to instructions, suggestions, training, ideas and requests, fewer mistakes will be made and increased productivity will result. Time will be saved and aggravation will be reduced.
E = Empowerment. To empower people within an organization, leadership must listen to the voices of team members. Mechanisms should be in place to uncover the gem of an idea, the ideal solution, the inspired recommendation or the occasional concern. An organization that listens will be better able to cultivate the abilities of each individual, nurture the creativity of the collective mind and inspire loyalty by integrating the ideas and suggestions of its members. People will share their thoughts and stretch their talents to the limits of their aptitude when given the opportunity to do so.
N = Negotiation. Negotiation takes place whenever there is an exchange of needs. The best salespeople, negotiators, mediators, and diplomats all listen first before placing their own agenda on the table. Legendary leaders all have a bit of the sales person, negotiator, mediator and diplomat in them. Listen first, then develop a strategy around what you hear. This will develop the relationship and get you to an agreement faster than making demands or issuing opinions based on your own perception.
U = Understanding. Communication has not occurred unless there is a ?meeting of the minds.? This requires that a connection be made. Listening is the primary mode of communication used in building relationships, collecting data and solving problems. If this mode is faulty or not fully developed, then understanding breaks down and communication does not occur.
P = Problem solving. Have you ever been through psychotherapy? There is a great deal involved in solving a person?s problems and bringing him or her back to good mental health, but the predominant technique used is listening. The therapist allows the person to talk about their problems and facilitates the individual?s discovery of workable solutions. Individuals, including customers, may not be in need of intense therapy, but there may be moments when they are acting in a dysfunctional way and could use a non-judgmental ear. Solve problems and reduce frustrations by listening rather than launching into your own preferred solutions.
Women, by the way, are traditionally better listeners. While the stereotype may be that women chatter, this is not true in organizational life. Women should cultivate this strength. Men should emulate it. While good listeners may appear as though they are not contributing, they are in a very distinctive way leading an organization to legendary status.
?By providing each of us with an enormous need to be heard, our egos overwhelm any desire to hear.?
? Kevin J. Murphy. Elaine Beaubien is professor of business at Edgewood College and CEO of Management Training Seminars ? www.elainetrain.com.
L = Legendary status. Individuals who hone their listening skills have the potential to be excellent team members, exceptional candidates for leadership and superb providers of service. Organizations that embrace a listening culture will become employers of choice in today?s tight labor market, increase their employee retention rate, improve the quality of their product and develop a reputation for legendary customer service.
I = Information. A listening organization is smarter. Individuals need direction, departments need goals, customers need information, decision makers need intelligence, and leaders need ideas. To make good decisions, to take advantage of diversity, to tap into creativity and increase the competence of each individual, information must pass through all levels of the organization. This can be accomplished through active listening.
S = Satisfaction. Employee satisfaction leads to loyalty and retention. Customer satisfaction results in revenue. There is no doubt that one is related to the other. An individual who gets the undivided attention of another feels more important and more human. A good listener provides a forum for the ego and food for the soul.
T = Time. There is an old saying that there is always time to do it over, but never time to do it right. Time is wasted when an organization suffers through misunderstandings because someone wasn?t listening, when it corrects work done improperly because someone got only half the message or when it deals with frustrations and potential disasters created by a lack of attention. If people are encouraged to attend carefully to instructions, suggestions, training, ideas and requests, fewer mistakes will be made and increased productivity will result. Time will be saved and aggravation will be reduced.
E = Empowerment. To empower people within an organization, leadership must listen to the voices of team members. Mechanisms should be in place to uncover the gem of an idea, the ideal solution, the inspired recommendation or the occasional concern. An organization that listens will be better able to cultivate the abilities of each individual, nurture the creativity of the collective mind and inspire loyalty by integrating the ideas and suggestions of its members. People will share their thoughts and stretch their talents to the limits of their aptitude when given the opportunity to do so.
N = Negotiation. Negotiation takes place whenever there is an exchange of needs. The best salespeople, negotiators, mediators, and diplomats all listen first before placing their own agenda on the table. Legendary leaders all have a bit of the sales person, negotiator, mediator and diplomat in them. Listen first, then develop a strategy around what you hear. This will develop the relationship and get you to an agreement faster than making demands or issuing opinions based on your own perception.
U = Understanding. Communication has not occurred unless there is a ?meeting of the minds.? This requires that a connection be made. Listening is the primary mode of communication used in building relationships, collecting data and solving problems. If this mode is faulty or not fully developed, then understanding breaks down and communication does not occur.
P = Problem solving. Have you ever been through psychotherapy? There is a great deal involved in solving a person?s problems and bringing him or her back to good mental health, but the predominant technique used is listening. The therapist allows the person to talk about their problems and facilitates the individual?s discovery of workable solutions. Individuals, including customers, may not be in need of intense therapy, but there may be moments when they are acting in a dysfunctional way and could use a non-judgmental ear. Solve problems and reduce frustrations by listening rather than launching into your own preferred solutions.
Women, by the way, are traditionally better listeners. While the stereotype may be that women chatter, this is not true in organizational life. Women should cultivate this strength. Men should emulate it. While good listeners may appear as though they are not contributing, they are in a very distinctive way leading an organization to legendary status.
?By providing each of us with an enormous need to be heard, our egos overwhelm any desire to hear.?
? Kevin J. Murphy. Elaine Beaubien is professor of business at Edgewood College and CEO of Management Training Seminars ? www.elainetrain.com.
Copyright 2001 by Madison Magazine. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
