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Leaders who listen well create company cultures where people feel heard, valued, and engaged. In addition, employees who experience high-quality listening report greater levels of job satisfaction and psychological safety. If you’re interested in sharpening your listening skills, try using these four techniques: (1) Listen until the end — don’t jump in or interrupt the speaker; (2) Listen to summarize the problem, not to solve it; (3) Balance your focus between building a connection with the speaker and understanding the issue they’re presenting you with; (4) Listen for values — whether someone is ranting about something small or sharing something emotional or complex, it’s an opportunity for you to learn more about what’s important to them.
When people describe a good communicator at work, they’re usually talking about a great presenter — not a great listener. In fact, few business school courses focus on building listening skills and most employee education and training sessions don’t either.
