Leaders need to Listen

“The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them. They have either lost confidence that you can help them or concluded that you do not care. Either case is a failure of leadership.” Colin Powell

I have included this quote from Colin Powell a retired general that had a very distinguished public service career, because it helps to illustrate the point that leaders need to listen. And what should they be listening for? Leaders must be “listening” to many different levels of communication in order to be effective. They need to attend to each individual’s personal comments and they also must listen to organizational issues.
All of us have experienced the casual salutation “How’s it going?”, but do we stop and really find out? As a leader stopping and taking time to find out, through listening makes all the difference. It may not change the entire organization in a day, but it will change that person’s day as they remember that someone cared. The key to listening to the individual is reading the total person, not just hearing the words, but understanding their meaning. Many authors and experts have touted the importance of Emotional Intelligence, or the ability to sense and emphasize with another’s feelings, because without meaning the message is lost. Many times I have told the person “you don’t look, ok” and often get a more sincere response with a brief discussion of what is really going on in their lives.
Next it is very important for the leader to stop and listen to organizational issues. Essentially that is one of the leader’s key tasks; listen, take recommendations and then issue direction. Too often leaders are found providing guidance and direction without any input from the implementers. The result is misunderstanding, confusion, cynicism and lost productivity. Alternately the leader that takes the time to listen and employ a participative style of leadership gets diverse opinions. These can then be used to make a better informed decision.
Listening and understanding take time and practice, it is an important leader talent, but well worth the effort. So get out there and listen to what’s going on.