How can you improve your listening skills as a leader?

1 Assess your current listening habits

In order to improve your listening skills, it is important to first identify your strengths and weaknesses as a listener. Ask yourself questions such as if you are paying attention to the speaker's body language, tone, and emotions or just focusing on the words? Do you listen with an open mind or judge, interrupt, or jump to conclusions? Are you asking relevant and clarifying questions or assuming you know what the speaker means? Are you paraphrasing or summarizing what you heard, or ignoring or distorting the message? Do you give constructive feedback or criticize or argue? Additionally, seek feedback from others such as colleagues, peers, or mentors on how they perceive your listening skills. Be open to their suggestions and opinions and use them as a guide to improve your listening habits.

2 Practice active listening

Active listening is a technique that requires full attention to the speaker, showing interest and empathy, and responding appropriately. This skill can help you understand, retain, and build rapport with the speaker. To practice active listening, maintain eye contact and a relaxed posture, avoiding distractions. Use verbal and non-verbal cues such as nodding or saying “uh-huh” to show you are listening. Ask open-ended questions to elicit more information and clarify the speaker's point of view. Reflect back what you heard to confirm your understanding and show respect. Lastly, summarize the main points and key messages to review what was discussed and highlight the takeaways.

3 Avoid common listening barriers

There are many factors that can interfere with your listening skills, such as noise, stress, bias, or emotions. These can prevent you from listening effectively and lead to misunderstandings, conflicts, or missed opportunities. To avoid these common listening barriers, it's important to choose a quiet and comfortable environment, or use headphones or earplugs to minimize noise and distractions. Additionally, managing your stress level and recognizing and challenging your own assumptions can help you avoid jumping to conclusions or misinterpreting the message. Finally, controlling your emotions or expressing them appropriately will help you prevent reacting impulsively or defensively.

4 Seek feedback and improvement

The last step to improving your listening skills is to seek feedback and improvement. This can be done by asking yourself or others questions such as how well you listened to the speaker, what you learned, and what you did well or poorly. Additionally, set specific and measurable goals like listening to a TED talk or podcast weekly, asking open-ended questions, and avoiding interrupting or judging the speaker. Through this process, you will be able to learn from your mistakes, celebrate your achievements, and continuously enhance your listening skills as a leader.

5 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?