Would being a better listener help you become a better leader?

Listening is as important as speaking. As a leader, you need to listen more than you speak because you can’t learn anything by hearing yourself talk. You need to know how to ask the right questions, and how to listen carefully. You need to understand what people are saying—and why they are saying it—before you try to be understood.

Listening is a difficult, but critical, discipline for leaders to master. Over the years, I have come to believe that listening is the key to good communication. In The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey said that the single most important principle he had learned in the field of interpersonal relations was: “Seek first to understand, then to be understood.” You can’t understand without listening, and the better you listen, the better you’ll understand.

Who’s the best listener you know? I’ll bet that person is not a big talker. We usually land in one of two camps. Either we like to hear ourselves talk, or we like to hear others talk. And we all know people who just won’t talk. They don’t even react much when you talk. It’s a kind of game with some people. They like to keep their cards close to their chest. In doing so, they can aggravate people into talking more than they might otherwise, just to fill the vacuum. But these non-talkers are just as guilty of poor communication as the person who won’t shut up.

The better listener is not always a good talker, and the better talker is likely not a good listener. As a leader, you need to be a good listener and a good talker. Unless you live alone on an island somewhere, you need to communicate effectively. Listening with focus and purpose will help you become a better communicator, and a better leader.

Tags: Advice, Developing Leaders, Leadership Skills, Learning, Life Tips, listening skills, Personal Development, Success, The Mind of a Leader, Values, Wisdom