The Four Levels of Listening Skills

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Real change starts with listening.

In Customer Success, proactive listening and empathy are fundamental skills for customer engagement. Once we properly listen, we can re-confirm the expectations and challenges and drive appropriate actions that lead to a change. This change should ideally improve the customer experience and lead to them achieving the expected business outcome. This listening->advising->change->outcome process is considered a critical part of customer relationships and the ability to retain and expand them.

I challenge whether humans, especially these days, are in a listening mode. On the one hand, we are professionals, have unlimited access to data, and will soon have additional AI capabilities to perform our jobs better. On the other hand, we are constantly stimulated by the digital “pulses “ sent via instant messages, social media, and emails. We process text, audio, and video much more than 10 or 20 years ago. Has this affected our listening skills?

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I turned to Otto Scharmer’s Theory U, developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). One significant achievement of his research was the Four Levels of Listening model. Otto considered that many workplace failures can be attributed to a lack of listening and, therefore, a lack of understanding of the situation at hand.?

So, how effectively do we listen to our customers? Do we understand the situation? Or are we ready with a predefined solution and playbook that may not be the right fit?

Let’s look at the four listening levels and deep dive into more insights from Otto and his team.

Level One: Downloading

We are physically present at Level One, but our minds are elsewhere. Unfortunately, this is how most of us listen most of the time.

How can you tell me that you “downloaded “ the information? You could not repeat what the other person said. It is the same as downloading a file to a computer without reading the content.

Level One Listening occurs when we engage in a conversation where someone is talking, but we already “know” what they will say. Sometimes, we will disrupt them and finish their sentence for them. This happens because we are distracted and attempting to shortcut the conversation.

What has changed in the end? We left with no new data points, and we learned nothing new.

Takeaway for CS engagement:

Let’s avoid entering a meeting with a ”cookbook”? of solutions when we have not diligently clarified the other person's requirements, needs, or problems. This is a challenge for CS professionals. We know our product well and are eager to solve problems, but we cannot be overly confident that we know what the customer asks us to resolve.

Level Two: Factual Listening

At this level, we no longer listen to what we already know. Instead, we are focused on learning what we don’t?know. Now, we are paying attention.

To learn a new skill or operating procedure, we would need to listen through Level Two.?We come out of the conversation with new data points that challenge some of our previous assumptions.?

In Level Two, we separate the facts of the conversation from the person we are conversing with. We do not necessarily pay attention to their feelings or emotions or any nuances in the conversation (as we are focused on the new data)

Level Two Listening may lead to a meaningful debate because it challenges what we already thought we knew, and this can trigger questions and reservations that we share with the other person.

Takeaway for CS engagement:

In many cases, we provide customers with data points, and we can observe if they are themselves in Level Two. Moreover, customers may provide new insights or data we must be aware of. This is the time to step up our listening skills. Do we only focus on the information, or can we connect emotionally with our customers? Are we attentive to their body language and nonverbal cues?

Level Three: Empathic Listening

In Level Three, we connect with the person we are speaking to. This time, we move beyond factual statements and are more alert to explore feelings and related emotions.?

We also start “reading between the lines” to notice what is unspoken. Empathy kicks in when we put ourselves in their shoes and view things from their perspective.? We understand the emotional context of what they are saying. This is why level three was named Empathic?Listening.

If we practice this listening level more often, meetings will be more productive because we will be attentive to the other person’s perspective. Then, there is a better chance we will understand the data they share with us, and consequently, our response will be more appropriate, factoring in the other person's position and emotions.

Takeaway for CS engagement:

?Customer experience is not determined only by interaction with a product or a service; it has significant human-personalized aspects. People want to be successful in their jobs and want to be heard. This is the perfect situation for CSMs to create empathy and influence their stakeholders in a way that considers their needs and objectives.

This is our chance to impact customer experience positively. Doing so is very much in our hands, and it all starts with empathic listening.

Level Four: Generative Listening

Long before Generative AI, Otto Scharmer identified that humans can listen and generate ideas in each other’s minds.

Level Four is about having collaborative conversations. We move beyond connecting with the other person to engaging with the core ideas of the conversation and their potential future impact. We are focused on bringing the best possible results while dropping our egos and other barriers.

When people align in a relaxed and optimistic manner, the circumstances allow us to produce new ideas and pursue them energetically, bringing them into reality.

How do we know we generatively listened to someone else? ?When we leave the conversation thinking about new and emerging options and opportunities for us and the other person.?

Takeaway for CS engagement:

It is the “holy grail” for CSMs when they walk away from a meeting, knowing there is agreement about the path to success. It does not matter how the new ideas and changes were formulated as long as there is a mutual understanding of the benefits the customer can expect to have. At the same time, the overall engagement and relationships are improved.

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Applicable Conclusions for Customer Success

1. Playbooks and predefined solutions are essential but cannot be “downloaded” into a conversation before clarifying the need or challenge.
2. Empathy is created when the correct questions are asked to obtain information and understand the stakeholder’s point of view.
3. Being humble and honest is crucial to becoming a generative listener.