You can't be a Leader if you're not not listening...

In the book, “The Leadership Secrets of Colin Powell” the author, Oren Harari, states

“In a conversation with Colin Powell, you are likely to be struck my how intently he listens. In fact, he seems more inclined to listen than to be listened to.”

While Colin Powell has built a reputation as a leader who is willing to listen to anyone at any level of the organization, he also believes that he must model this active form of listening because it leads to greater levels of communication and thus, more ideas and a much greater level of commitment by those being listened to.

Active listening is an art form and a skill. And just like any other skill, it requires constant practice and commitment to become great. To become a better listener and increase communication and the exchange of ideas in your team, department, or organization take time over the next month to actively practice the following 5 steps when communicating with your employees, peers, customers, and bosses.

1. Show a sincere interest in what the speaker is saying: Keep constant eye contact and mirror the speaker’s body language to make him feel comfortable. Remember, it’s all about them – not you.

2. Use clarifying questions: Ask questions to clarify only what the speaker is specifically saying. Doing so demonstrates your interest in what the speaker is saying. With practice, you can clarify the content, feelings, and meaning behind the speakers words.

3. Summarize: At times, quickly jump in and summarize what you are hearing. Again, this shows your interest in the speaker and allows the speaker to correct you if you missed anything.

4. Share an experience: Take time to share any similar experiences that you have had with the speaker. It’s important to only do this if it relates to what the speaker is discussing and make sure not to take control of the conversation. Remember, it’s all about the speaker.

5. Provide full support: If you simply shoot down the speaker’s idea, you not only decrease the chances of hearing any future ideas, but you can quickly lose both the speakers commitment and even respect. When you lose either of these, you have lost the relationship. Seek out areas of agreement or areas that you think should be explored further and begin a dialogue around these issues. At this point, the speaker will be happy to listen to you and work towards a common goal.