Transform Meetings with the Magic of Listening

Written by Renée Safrata - renee@reneevations.com, March 18th, 2010

I once asked a very successful marketer how she could jump into an industry she knew nothing about and in a couple of months nail their new brand strategy. “I listen,” she said, adding. “It’s like magic.”

She’s certainly not alone in the high value she places on listening. Management gurus, such as Tom Peters, have been emphasizing the power of listening for years now, because as it turns out, most of us aren’t very good at it. Not even doctors find listening easy, says Peters, and that’s when it can be matter of life and death. Imagine what it’s like in the average business meeting?

Peters makes the point that an organization-wide commitment to what he calls “strategic listening” is even more important than a good strategic plan.

Fortunately, learning strategic listening isn’t difficult, though successful application takes some practice. It starts with commitment at the top. Leadership teams need to agree on its importance and then commit to teaching listening skills to other team members.

There are a number of listening models from which to chose, any of which are easy to teach and simple to apply in any day-to-day situation. To help you out, I’ve created this free ebook that outlines my proven model for strategic listening. You can download it here: Communication Loop_Ebook

Once you’ve taught team members the elements of listening, you can help enforce the skill by using conversations with peers and direct reports as “learning opportunities” to illustrate the listening technique.

Team leaders who have implemented my strategic listening model tell me it’s one of the most efficient, cost-effective ways they’ve found for improving decision-making, conflict resolution, and even interpersonal relationships. Why not see what it can do for your team? Let me know how it goes—I’m always listening!

Related posts:

1. The Secret to Turning Meetings into “Results Generators,” Not “Time Wasters”