Leading by listening

“It’s no wonder that ‘employee engagement’ is a serious issue in most organisations today. Everybody is talking; nobody is listening!” This comment from Kimsey-House et al. in their 2011 book “Co-active coaching: Changing Business, Transforming Lives”, Nicholas Brealey. Evidently the focus is on coaching but on reading their chapter on listening I realized that the guidelines for coaches might be equally applicable for leaders. My premise is that to better lead, you need to better listen! Only by ‘properly’ listening can you fully engage with your followers; meanwhile listening can be superficial at the best of times particularly in a busy ‘solutions-focused’ business environment. To better listen the authors propose to move from ‘level 1’ listening to ‘level 3’ listening.

Here’s how to lead by listening along with further considerations (“et alors”)

Leading by listening

The authors assert that listening is not passive and describe three levels of listening, thus:

Level 1: Internal Listening

Here the listener is focused on “what does this mean to me?”

Only the words of the other person are listened to and these are filtered by thoughts, judgments and feelings. The listener might be thinking of a solution, their own similar situation or the next question without listening any ‘deeper’. Interruptions and misunderstandings are both common and frequent.

This is not a very effective way of ‘properly’ listening, either as a leader or a coach.

Level 2: Focused Listening

Here the listener is focused on “what does this mean to the other person?”

In addition to the words, the other person’s tone, pace, expressions and emotions are listened for: in other words, not only what is said, but how it is said. As the listener’s ‘internal chatter’ disappears, Level 2 listening becomes “empathy, clarification” and “collaboration.”

This is a much more effective way of ‘properly’ listening and can be achieved at any time.

Level 3: Global Listening

Here the listener is completely in the moment and focused purely on understanding.

Beyond words, listening is also through what you ‘receive’ via the whole environment: for example the energy levels, the ‘coolness’ or the distractions of the other person. Being very open to subtle clues, the listener notices the “action, the inaction and the interaction.”

Here, you will really hear, but to attain this level of listening will take practice!

Et alors

“Anyone who is successful at influencing people is skilled at listening at level 3. These people have the ability to read their impact and adjust their behavior accordingly.” Leaders should take note of this assertion by the authors: if you want to influence, listen ‘globally’! Some might say that they do not have time, but level 2 listening can be achieved at any time: it’s much better than level 1 so there really is no excuse. Level 3 listening is challenging and in practical terms it might not be achievable all the time; however with greater awareness (and practice), the leader can get to this level according to circumstance and when necessary. The investment in listening should pay good dividends in influence!