Freddie Achom on why leadership skills should be your focus as a business leader
How well do you listen to other people? Chances are you think you’re pretty good at it. But research shows that just 10% of us really listen properly. That means 90% of us just don’t listen effectively. And when it comes to business owners, team leaders and entrepreneurs, listening can be the difference between success and failure.
During my years in the business sector, as an investor, entrepreneur and founder, I’ve experienced the benefit of listening well. By remaining open to other people, tuning in to their ideas and listening to our customers rather than our competitors, success follows.
Listening is one of the top leadership skills according to employees
Many people assume they’re good listeners, when they’re actually not fully engaged with the other person. Taking the time to actively develop the skill of listening can push your business and your team to the next level.
The importance of listening to your employees is backed up by data. Research carried out by Bain&Company in 2016 asked 2,000 employees to rate more than 30 leadership traits. Top of the list came ‘centredness’, which refers to the person showing that they are really present in the conversation and giving their complete attention to them. This makes employees feel more valued and heard, which boosts confidence and creativity.
Business leaders must also ensure that everyone is listened to. That includes those who tend to hang back or have different communication styles. It’s up to the entrepreneur in charge to understand their team’s styles and adapt to them.
Do you listen or do you just wait to speak?
A common mistake leaders make is being more interested in speaking than listening. This is particularly common with founders, start-up owners and entrepreneurs. Extroverted, passionate, dynamic business leaders tend to enjoy talking. And while I admire anyone who can properly express themselves, I specifically admire those who show that they are listening to others.
Listening gives an insight into other people’s perspectives, which is something that can’t be underestimated. It helps to understand the subtext of conversation and find out what’s not being said, or what might be missing from the big picture.
Development advisor Melissa Daimler maintains that there are three listening styles:
- Internal listening – when people concentrate more on their inner thoughts than on the person talking
- Focused listening – when people are listening but are still not fully connected, and therefore miss all kinds of subtexts.
- 360-degree listening – this is the top level of listening where the person is fully engaged in what the other person is saying and watching how they say it.
Most people assume they always operate at the top level, but it’s likely that this isn’t the case. It’s always worth checking in every now and again and considering the following four listening qualities, as defined by leadership consultants Joseph Folkman and Jack Zenger:
- Participation – are you asking questions and trying to find out more?
- Support – effective listeners should be actively boosting the speaker’s conversation.
- Positivity – give thoughtful, constructive feedback. If the speaker sees that you are listening effectively, they’re much more likely to take your advice.
- Cooperation – if you find you are using the speaker’s time to work out what you’re going to say, this is likely to end up as a defensive, unproductive conversation. Feedback needs to flow in both directions.
How to become a better listener
Stress, distractions and general day-to-day levels of work make it easy to pay less attention to others. If you find that you aren’t truly engaging with your team, try the following techniques to boost your listening skills.
- Use direct eye contact – turn off your devices and notifications and give your full attention to the speaker. Eye contact helps to establish a rapport and make the other person feel valued.
- Don’t ask closed questions – this stifles conversation and makes the speaker feel less valued. Instead, ensure that questions are open ended.
- Don’t jump in – let the speaker finish and try not to think of your response until they’ve finished speaking.
- Look for nonverbal clues – try to listen to what isn’t being said. Approximately 80% of all communication is nonverbal, and this is why face-to-face conversations are the most useful.
