- leanderopperman
Are you (really) listening to me?
One of the greatest challenges leaders face is what John Maxwell calls the “communication challenge”.
I love how he shares the fact that he was not always a good listener and that he talked too much and listened too little.
Despite making this a personal development goal in 2022 I feel that I’m still a “learner listener”
I once read that the greatest compliment that you can pay someone is to truly listen.
Listening without thinking of what you’re going to say next.
Listening with the aim of understanding.
How often do we have a quick solution for every problem that our team raises?
Are we perhaps offering that solution without first truly listening to them?
Do we suffer from “agenda anxiety” which is just a different way of saying that “what I want to say is more important than what you are saying”?
If you want to improve your leadership, stop talking for a moment and start listening. With the aim of understanding.
Without any judgement and with the full focus of your attention on who is speaking.
“ Being heard is so close to being loved that for the average person, they are almost indistinguishable.”
David W. Augsberger