‘Active Listening’ is a key skill if you want to create effective team communication. Active listening requires you to concentrate, understand, respond and then recall what is being said. It is where you make a conscious effort to hear and understand the complete message being spoken. Peter Drucker, an influential management consultant, said: “The most important thing in communication is hearing what isn’t said”. By using Active Listening techniques, you and your team can start to ‘read between the lines’.
As a leader, learning how to listen actively is critical if you are to gain your team’s trust. You will also find that the team works better together if you create a culture of Active Listening. Conflicts will be more easily resolved, and your team should also feel more empowered.
We suggest you practice Active Listening techniques in one-to-one meetings with your staff. You can also use the techniques in your team meetings. The more you and your team use the techniques, the more skilled you will become. If you use Active Listening in team meetings, you will allow every individual to be heard, thus avoiding the need for team members to compete for a voice. Also, through encouraging respectful behaviour within your team, you can start to create an environment where your team will flourish.
Active Listening techniques can also help to drive better outcomes in on-line meetings. With the many distractions of an on-line environment, helping your team to learn Active Listening skills can make your time together more productive. Encouraging your team’s focused attention on key topics can even reduce the time you need to meet to achieve consensus!
Over our next few blogs, we will be sharing our tips to help you on your active listening journey.