CORNERSTONES OF SUCCESSFUL LEADERSHIP COMMUNICATION – LISTENING BY Anthony T. Eaton Communication is one of the cornerstones of successful leadership and one element of good communication is the ability to listen. To be a good leader you must listen more than you talk. Only by listening can you: • Make personal connections; know them not just as employees but as people with lives outside of the organization. • Understand their work challenges and the roadblocks they face so that you can help remove them. • Know what their strengths are. It is all well and good to recognize areas of opportunities but you must be able to identify strengths in order to leverage them to the organizations benefit. • Find out what their personal and professional goals are; what do they aspire for and how can you help them get there. • Get feedback from them on how you are doing as a leader, what are you doing well, what you should stop doing and what can you do differently. Just as you give them feedback, as a leader you need to receive to be the best you can be. • Be honest and genuine. Everyone can spot a fake and no one appreciates someone whose words are disingenuous and hollow. Your employees are smart; they can spot a line of BS when they hear it. So how do you listen? • Set aside dedicated time for each employee. One on ones time is essential; make it personal, allows your employee to pick the time and place. It doesn’t have to be in your office and in fact it is better to do it someplace else more neutral. Make it over lunch or a cup of coffee. • Be engaged. Don’t answer the phone, look at email or allow others to interrupt. This is time for the employee and they need to have your undivided attention. Make eye contact and give acknowledgement that you hear them. • Don’t have an agenda; again, this time is for your employee not you. Allow them to ask you for feedback. Give them updates on things they may not be aware of and if there is nothing related to business use the time to continue to build the relationship. • Ask them questions. What do you need, what can I do for you, what are your roadblocks, is there anything I should stop doing or do more of? There is no short cut to communication; nothing replaces face to face, not email, texts, phone etc. Listening to your employees shows that you are engaged and in turn engages them. It is proven that the more engaged your employees are the harder they work and the less likely they are to leave the organization. All of these things will allow you to build a stronger relationship with your employees, let them know that you care about them personally and professionally; that they are not just a means to an end. This will also make you a better leader. anthony-leadershipblog.blogspot/
Posted on: Sun, 22 Sep 2013 22:30:54 +0000
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