|
Executives must learn to listen to communicate
Executive Development
By Wayne Outlaw
Whether you are in a corner office managing a large organization or aspiring to move into management, you must develop your communication skills. Many organizations send their high potential employees to public speaking classes and some even provide speech coaches.
The contemporary thought is that executives and entrepreneurs are known by their ability to communicate, and that is primarily how they speak.
The most effective executives can get their points across, but the ones who have finely tuned listening skills know which points to get across. It goes without saying that communication is a two way process, and too little emphasis is placed on listening.
Not only must you learn to listen to know how to respond, but you must also learn that listening provides many other things. The greatest gift you can give another human is to truly listen. It makes the person feel more valued and creates motivation.
Listening helps executives discern facts, understand conditions, uncover options and solve problems. In selling, whether it is a product or an idea, listening enables you to uncover needs, the implication of action and the benefits of the action.
Regardless of the purpose of communication, listening is an essential skill that an executive must develop to be successful.
Years ago I took a course provided by my employer on how to listen. It taught straightforward skills that everyone could benefit from. For executives, listening must be honed into a fine art to provide the information needed for successful interaction with others, to make strategic decisions and to avoid problems.
One of the biggest listening problems is the amount of information we are confronted with everyday. It is easy to become so busy with multi-tasking, shifting from one priority to the other, that we forget to really listen. It is important to take time each day to listen to individuals and to groups to be in tune with what is going on.
Earlier in my career, my boss in a large staff department would tour the office several times a day. We thought he scheduled his tours at the beginning of work, when we were returning from lunch or even at the end of the day to see how productive we were.
If you watched him closely, he would periodically stop at a cubical and engage the individual in a conversation. This conversation, though short, would focus on not only what the person was doing, but also how they were doing. That way he kept in touch with both the tasks and the people who were responsible for the work.
When communicating, regardless of what is going on, focus on the person. Keep eye contact and avoid interrupting while they’re speaking or even thinking of your responses while they’re talking.
Don’t jump in immediately after they finish because, many times, the most important comments are after a thoughtful pause.
Many task-oriented executives hear “what” is being said but not “how” it is being said, and as a result, they fail to pick up the emotional components of the message. The emotional component may be as important as the message itself.
Whether dealing with a group or an individual, be especially conscious of what is not being said. If the information flow stops or even shifts dramatically, consider that as a red flag to be investigated.
If the executive is not open to hear the bad news, he or she may find certain types of information not being given. Certain topics are then avoided in conversations.
Sometimes organizations have to take extra effort to hear what people say. One of our clients that we conducted organizational surveys for, for four years prior to their successful sale to a large organization, titled their surveys, “Voices of the Community.” This was an effective way to understand people’s levels of satisfaction, the areas that needed improvement, obtain suggestions and even get information to make decisions.
According to Oliver Wendell Holmes, “It is the prominence of knowledge to speak, and it is the privilege of wisdom to listen.” For the executives, it is critical that they listen to know when and how to speak.
Wayne Outlaw is a speaker and consultant. E-mail him at wayne@outlawgroup.com.
|
E-Mail This Article
Printer-Friendly Version