Shut Up: How Great Leaders Listen

@millipedemedia I'm not the best listener and this was a wake up call to that! Thanks for sharing :)

@SageOneNA Great tips in this one...thanks for sharing!

Great leaders are great coaches too, and what you're describing is solid coaching technique.  Nice post.  

The simple truth is very few of us were taught good listening skills. What we call active listening, where you not just ‘hear’ what’s being said, but improve its quality and quantity. This is the most effective way to improve decision-making... 

I wrote something very much along the same lines here:

http://sandersconsulting.com/newbusinesshawk/winning-new-business-rules-for-closing-the-deal

@tedcoine @ginidietrich People have forgotten how to stop and listen. Look at how distracted people are. All walking down the street on Ph.

You just nailed my favorite type of leader: someone who actually listens and solicits feedback/ideas. Bonus points that they let you complete your thought before interrupting...even if they've already formulated a response before you finish speaking.

Listening is a high form of respect, and it is *always* appreciated. It is also an acquired skill by some - me included...I used to be terrible at finishing people's thoughts.

RT @barrettrossie: Shut Up: How Great Leaders Listen http://t.co/WoFxYVLExX via @ginidietrich < I can use this... << me too.

I'll do better, I promise ....

@ginidietrich I couldn't find your comment, but I liked the post and left you one anyway.

I find that "I don't know, what do you think?" is one of a leader's most powerful questions. It saves you a lot of work AND it enables you to gauge the judgment and skills of your team members in a safe environment where they can still use your experience to course correct.

That @4thGear he's a smart guy!

LOL Melanie! I've always been a good listener because I was so painfully shy for most of my life (obviously outgrew that). But the hard part is asking questions instead of giving answers.

@HollyKatko @ginidietrich Thanks for sharing Holly. Good morning!

@InaBansal Thank you!

@InaBansal good article :) "To listen closely and reply well is the highest perfection we are able to attain in the art of conversation."

Shut up and kiss me - leadership lessons from Bill Clinton @jkcallas @ginidietrich - http://t.co/5vmXgBfygI

Sometimes would-be-leaders are just like politicians, they are not at all interested in listening but only in "being the boss". Which is a pretty unwise way to do business because your team is involved and usually interested in having a healthy business so listening to them Toyota-style should be the first thing to do.

Unfortunately many are bosses but few are leaders. :)

Good stuff. I would add that it's important to do this across all levels, meaning if you are at the top of an org you should tune in to what's happening on the ground. People appreciate it, and you tend to learn some important things that way.

On that thinking thing - I'm reading Richard Feynman (well known physicist, Los Alamos project, liquid helium, etc...) and he tells this story about how he was such a whiz kid that grown-ups asked him to fix radios for them all the time. One guy had him over and Feynman stood there for a few minutes thinking over the warm-up process for the old radio tubes, and how the power worked. The guy asked him "Whatta ya standing there for? Why don't you fix it already?" to which he replied "I'm thinking!" After he handily solved the problem, the grateful customer declared to everyone he knew that "this kid fixes radios by thinking!"

Maybe a corollary to your post is that we have to be creative in our listening. Sometimes the radio, computer, or breakroom has something to say too ;)

Simple reminder of the most important task of any professional, even outside the realm of PR. You could have the most brilliant strategy or idea, but if you do not take time to list to your client, then they will not like any idea you have. People can’t hear you until you hear them. You take turns, but the client is always first. This post also does a great job of explaining listening involves an interactive component. Eye contact and acknowledgement are key to engaging with a client or coworker. Great tips of taking your leadership to the next level, along with any professional and personal relationships!

Katie Sanders

Platform Magazine Contributing Writer

platformmagazine.com

All I can say is that I am planning to make myself some of those "Listening Ears" @mickeygomez featured on Facebook. I'll be wearing those suckers soon. And listening with ferocious concentration!

Great post Gini. Clients and Employees. Colleagues and Bosses. Friends and Family. All are moire impressed if you listen and remember. My weakness is I forget people's names the first time too often. I used to recite them in my head after first meetings. Tell me twice it is in my head for life. 

Eye contact is very important. In fact I suggest those that have a hard time with eye contact work on it. I am fearless. Don't care who you are I will look direct in your eyes. So important especially in Sales and marketing where everyone thinks you bullshit for money. Nothing confirms you are different than that direct eye contact.  And you will be surprised how many look away. 

“@howiegoldfarb: Shut Up: How Great Leaders Listen http://t.co/iUvzJBBNZN via @spinsucks @ginidietrich”

What would Fraser Crane do? I often wonder why people few the need to overpower each other in conversation. I work with a bunch of type A personalities who consistently jump all over each other. It makes me nuts. The best approach for me is to not talk. Eventually I get a turn and people usually wonder how I could synthesize everything so succinctly. It makes me howl everytime it happens.