?????? How Can The Quality Of Your Listening Elevate Team Success?

Today, let's dive into a crucial but often overlooked skill: LISTENING.

We'll explore how mastering this skill can elevate team success, improve communication, and unlock untapped potential.

The Art of Listening:

We all listen, right? ??

But how well do we listen? ??

Often, we're so focused on waiting for our turn to speak or formulating our response that we miss out on valuable insights and opportunities.

Picture this:

You're in a team meeting discussing a new project, and your colleague is sharing their ideas.

? Good listening looks like actively engaging with their ideas, asking clarifying questions, and offering constructive feedback.

? Bad listening, on the other hand, might involve checking your phone, nodding along without really understanding, or interrupting with your own thoughts before they've finished speaking. Personally, I am easily distracted by notifications popping up on my screen or worse responding to emails during online meetings.

There are quite a few blockers to listening, check these out:

Anything sound familiar?

I’d recommend you spend some time looking at these.? You can do this with just one person or you can do it with your team.? Basically, all you need is someone to work with, so get your people into pairs.

This exercise gives each person the opportunity to be a ‘listener’ and a ‘speaker’.?

The listener picks a couple of blockers.

The speaker tells a short story about something that has happened to them.

The listener keeps using their blockers.

The listener and the speaker then swop roles and do the same thing again

When finished get them to do a debrief with each each other and ask:

?? How did it feel to be the speaker and have your story ‘blocked’?

?? How did it feel to be listener and ‘block’ someone else’s story?

You can do this over as many times as you like using different blockers and with different partners.? When you have finished do a group debrief.

?? How was that experience?

?? What did you notice?

?? What will you do differently moving forward?

If you have the time, I would also strongly recommend conducting a complementary exercise where everyone pairs up and gives each other 5 uninterrupted minutes to truly listen.? Again, you can debrief on how that feels from both perspectives.? This can be quite powerful.??

Impact on Team Success:

Now, let's talk impact.

Good listening builds trust, fosters collaboration, and enhances problem-solving. It creates a culture where everyone feels valued and respected, leading to increased engagement and productivity.

So I’d suggest encouraging everyone to be conscious of the blockers they default to.? Get them to consciously hold back on them.? This way your team can minimise? misunderstandings, conflicts, and missed opportunities that hinder team performance and stifle innovation.

How Coaching Can Help:

So, how can we improve our listening skills through coaching?

Coaching provides a safe space to explore and develop this essential skill. Through guided conversations and feedback, as your coach I help you to become a more self-aware, empathetic, and skilled listener. I can offer practical strategies and tools to overcome common listening barriers and cultivate a culture of active listening within teams.

In conclusion, the power of listening cannot be overstated. It's a fundamental skill that underpins effective communication, fosters teamwork, and drives organisational success.

Can you commit to becoming an intentional, empathetic listener who empowers your team to thrive?

Tell me in the comments what you'll do differently moving forward.

Shout out now if you would like someone to develop this with - [email protected].

#Coaching #ListeningSkills #TeamSuccess