Thursday, June 10, 2010

The Ins and Outs of Effective Listening

Effective listening is an essential competency for anyone who wishes to be a leader. They need to understand how to motivate and empower others. Active, clarifying listening skills is important when people need direction or advice and prevents us giving premature solutions without having all the facts, thereby very often magnifying the problem rather than solving it. As well, it helps us to avoid misunderstandings coming from wrong interpretations of what is being said. Listening effectively also helps us control feelings and emotions that may be triggered the moment we feel blame comes into play.

Effective and active listening helps one to avoid conflict, obtain knowledge we didn't have before, capture ideas and expand on them with another individual and recognise others for valuable input and contributions to an organisation's success.

When we don't listen to others....hear where they're coming from, we in effect show them they have no value whatsoever. These people are not leaders. They are dictators.

Those who don't listen usually feel they already know what they're going to hear (clairvoyants?) or seek confirmation not information (their way is the only way so why waste time and hear another point of view?).

Be honest with yourself....do any of these ring true? And if you don't want to be honest with yourself, (that would be seeking confirmation of what you want to hear not information), ask those around you what they think.

• You Compare - You don't listen because you're already wondering who is better. (One upmanship)
• You read minds - You already know what they're going to say and are trying to figure out what's behind it (feelings, emotions, water cooler talk etc).
• You're Rehearsing - After the first two words you're already figuring out your response (without really hearing what you'll be responding to. A great way to start conflict)
• You Filter - You hear what you want to hear and filter out the rest.
• You Judge - They're not worthy of your attention, so why waste time listening?
• You Daydream - You listen to a fraction of what's said. You're thinking about your last meeting or date.
• You Identify - Everything they tell brings to mind something that happened to you, but it was MUCH better or worse or faster or ......and jump in with your story right away. Their experience doesn't count.
• You give advice - Miss or Mister Fix-it. After three words you can solve the problems of the world. Oh...there wasn't a problem? (Now there is!)
• You Argue - You love debate. It's been too long...so instead of "hearing" the other person, you're going to look for something to argue about (mentally rubbing your hands together with glee just looking for that first target.....)

Stop!

It's time to realise you don't know everything. Everyone who walks by you, who works and lives with you knows something about life that you don't. Leaders acknowledge this and look to expand their realm of knowledge every minute of every day while strengthening skills and talents at the same time.

A Few Guidelines:

• Listen for ideas, not only facts and ask yourself and the other person what they mean. What it means to you can have an entirely different meaning to someone else. This is how ideas are born.
• Judge what they say not how they say it. Keep your emotions out of it.
• Listen for value. It's in there somewhere.
• Don't judge and jump to conclusions without all the facts.
• Be flexible. How a person communicates isn't necessarily the same as you. And if you don't understand the point, take notes to ask the speaker later.
• Concentrate. Keep eye contact. If you start daydreaming you're just going to have to ask them for the same information again and there's no easy way to do that without showing them you've ignored them the first time around.
• Listen at the Speaker's pace. If you forge ahead, you're going to lose what HE'S saying.
• Open your mind to the possibility that you don't know it all! There might be something new for you to grasp.
• React to what the speaker is saying. Nod, use body language that shows you're listening. Keep eye contact, use language that invites more, and ask for clarification if you don't understand where this is going.
• Listen for the other person's point of view.
• AND LASTLY BE PATIENT!

"Listening is a magnetic and strange thing, a creative force. The friends who listen to us are the ones we move toward. When we are listened to, it creates us, makes us unfold and expand." - Karl A. Menninger

Best!
Donna Karlin

Thursday, June 03, 2010

Reading

Have I mentioned I love my Kindle?  As a tactile person I wondered how I'd take to this piece of technology. I love the feel of books, turning the pages, the texture of the paper so I'm surprised at how much I have grown to love my Kindle.

I am forever in airports, travelling for work, sometimes commuting to another country for a day at a time. There is something to be said about travelling light, taking my Kindle out at the airport or in another city or country, reading my newspaper from home, being able to call up and download a book in seconds that would benefit me and my clients and being able to take 20 or 30 books with me as reference points, all in this light weight, easy to read piece of technology.

What does that mean for me though?  Bottom line? I'm reading twice as much as I did before. I can read in the in-between times.  I read the paper from cover to cover because I can pick it up everywhere and can read fiction, business books even documents I would have had to wait to get back to my office to access before.

Ahh tech life is good!

Kindle Wireless Reading Device (6" Display, Global Wireless, Latest Generation)

Wednesday, June 02, 2010

For the Sake of ....?

"Progress is built, in effect, upon the foundations of necessary failure. That is the essential paradox of expert performance." - Matthew Syed

Is it always a bad thing when people or organizations fail and have to start over?

We've heard the terms constructive destructionism. We've seen great people come together as teams and create a toxic environment.

Is it better to keep organizations together no matter what or revisit what has to happen "for the sake of what?"

Just askin.