The Best Advice I Never Heard

On creating a listening culture for greater harmony.

No shock to anyone who's ever done a road trip with me , I'm tone deaf. And I love to sing! And I was born to act!?Naturally, this was the?cause of childhood heartbreak.?Once, a musical theater teacher,?hopeful or maybe just kind enough to advise me,?told me to stop focusing on what I sounded like?and start focusing on what I?heard. In other words, listen. As it?often goes with?good advice, it went in one ear?and out,?loudly off key.?

Let's talk about listening to harmonize.?

As you rise?in leadership, you're?increasingly?tasked with making ever more complex decisions?based upon the most complete information possible. That's why you know to listen—pulling in representatives from all relevant?perspectives. But if the people you rely on aren't listening—either because they don't know the value of it or don't know how to—their information is their agenda.

You need a listening culture.

Listening cultures harmonize in two ways:

1. Valuing people: The simplest, most immediate, and direct way to make people feel valued is to make them feel?heard. And valued people value people.?
2. Listening first: When teams experience?the?power of being the best listeners in the room, the tone changes.

We don't listen because we fear cacophony. Yet?healthy discourse—where people are listening to understand,?to build upon, and to create—hums. To create a listening culture for greater?harmony:

• Lead by example: Enthusiasm is contagious. And it can shut down dialogue. Passion can come across as certainty. Mix it with power,?and you can silence a room. A?great tip from?a brilliant Next Level Leader: When you're?leading the meeting, speak last.
• Lead with questions: Here’s a simple one you can bring into each and every meeting:?"What are you hearing?"
• Lead with us: To explore how we can help you create a?listening culture,?book a chat with me .

Back to the singing thing, ugh.?I still struggle with self-consciousness, always fearing I'm dead off and driving everyone crazy. Maybe it's time I listened to that teacher, dropped judging myself, and focused on listening. For now, you can find me, top volume,?feeling it all, totally off, in my car. Sorry not sorry, road buddies.?

Visit us @ www.the-next-level.com

Wintering Women's Leadership Retreat, MLK weekend, Hudson Valley

Listen to Lead (L2L) Podcast: Host in the Hot Seat

“The mind, once stretched by a new idea, never returns to its original dimensions.” -?Ralph Waldo?Emerson