Listening is a valuable and intentional act.
When you genuinely listen to another person you make them feel heard, and you build trust and respect.
Leading well is dependent on connecting with your people and understanding the different perspectives of those on your teams.
How to Listen
Allies work at being curious. They ask questions to engage and understand.
They listen to learn, not listen to respond. They take the time to really understand someone else’s perspective.
Examples of things to do or say include:
- Notice when others are being interrupted or talked over.
- Step in to let the person who was interrupted or talked over finish what they were saying.
- “XX, I think you have some good ideas and I’d like to hear more.”
- “I am sorry YY (person interrupting), I don’t believe XX (person being interrupted) was quite done with their thought. XX, would you mind sharing again what you were saying?”
- Ask open ended questions to be curious and ensure you understand where someone is coming from and what they are communicating.
- “I really like where you are going with that. Can you please tell me more?”
- “I am not quite sure I follow everything you just said. I heard XX and YY, but I think there was more to it. Could you elaborate?”
- “I am interested in learning more about XX. Can you please share some background or context on that?”
- “Here’s what I heard you say … Did I understand that correctly?”
Your Listening Assignment
Over the next week, work with intention to listen, to be present, and to seek to fully understand what those around you are saying.
This is a lot of work and takes constant checking in with yourself to stay fully present and pay attention.
Listen to understand, not to react. Pay attention to how often you have to resist the urge to interrupt.
Use the Listening section of your ALLIES Activity packet to record your observations and actions throughout the week.