If you ’ re looking for a leadership superpower to help survive and thrive into the new world of work – start with listening .
A downstream impact of a post-COVID-19 world is the additional burden leaders have taken on . They are buckling and burning out , leaving many B-suite doers wondering why they ’ ve strived to climb the ladder of ‘ leadership ’.
A recent Gartner report shows that 50 % of leaders lack confidence in navigating and leading into the new work environment . Individuals are consciously stepping back , leaving gaps in leadership succession .
Organisations are grappling with how to help this critical community ( who do so much heavy lifting ) develop the capability and confidence to keep leading into a new future .
There ’ s no magic answer but there is one attribute , among many , that adopted and applied will help a leader in ways they may never have appreciated – and that ’ s active listening .
It ’ s generally acknowledged that most of us listen with the intent to ‘ reply ’ or make a quick decision or judgement . We all do it and have done for many years .
As a leader , you ’ re often running so fast ‘ day to day ’ that listening might feel like a luxury you can ’ t afford , but if you can tame that inner ‘ advice monster ’ you ’ ll be amazed what you hear and understand .
Active listening rarely features in management courses yet it ’ s a fundamental and foundational leadership attribute
Creating space to listen
One thing leaders need more than anything is to create some space and capacity . They can ’ t keep managing everyone and everything in the manner they are now .
Active listening , practised and applied , can play an important role in creating time , trust , ownership and space . Active listening is the art and practice of concentrating fully on the individual , on what they are saying – the actual words . Not the style of delivery , not the quality of oratory , not what you think that might mean .
If you are listening actively , you ’ ll start to notice what is being said and what is not being said and how that can quickly extend into the advice and actions that follow .
The most basic and powerful way to connect to another person is to listen . Just listen
Professor Rachel Naomi Remen
Managing unconscious bias
To really connect with someone you have to understand them , without judgement , and with the trust that creates , they ’ re much more likely to follow you , work hard for you , and share insights and concerns quickly and openly if they know you listen .
And active listening goes a long way to managing the unconscious biases we all have . Biases are difficult to control and overcome because they are at least partially beyond our control – they ’ re unconscious . So by making active listening a very conscious effort and act , we hold our unconscious biases in check .
And as a result , we open ourselves up to more possibilities , different solutions , wider pools of talent , a willingness to try something new , and the courage to take a risk . All things that leaders are going to have to be brave and try .
Active listening rarely features in management courses and leadership curriculums , yet it ’ s a fundamental and foundational leadership attribute . And its relevance and value are growing in this hybrid , dispersed work environment we ’ re all wrestling with .
So if you ’ re working out how to help your leaders lift themselves into a new future , teaching them how to actively listen will arm them with a superpower that gets all the boats to rise .
Tim Way , Managing Director , The Career Conversation
The Career Conversation connects technology , content and conversation to change the way you communicate with your employees .