Good managers listen - part 1
Ali Merchant is a performance coach who teaches managers to be better leaders.
In his article in the Forbes magazine, Ali discussed what holds back managers from listening and how to improve the listening habits.
Good managers make their team members feel important by listening intently. In this process of listening, good managers, transform the conversation and leave an indelible mark on their team.
In order to improve the listening habit, a manager must first recognise the unconscious habits that are barriers to effective listening and then gradually replace them with healthy listening practices.
3 unconscious habits that hold you back from effective listening:
- Constantly jumping in - The higher up you go in career the more you should resist from the habit of jumping in. The next time you are in a meeting, pay attention to the most influential person in the room and observe how often they jump in and how often they take their time to listen and ask thought-provoking questions.
- Being distracted - Multitasking erodes your listening capacity. For example, checking emails or messages while talking to someone.
- Controlling outcomes - Even good managers sometimes tend to intervene when conversations head in a direction different. This fear of not being able to control the event is a major source of a poor listening habit.
