The Six Elements of Effective Listening: How Successful Leaders Transform Communication Through the Power of Listening

There's an important distinction between hearing and listening. To hear is about receiving input. Listening gives meaning to that input. Yet, many people take listening for granted, treating it as a passive activity rather than a skill that you actively build. If you want to communicate better, it may be time to do a re-frame on what it means to really listen to someone.

You'll never be a good listener if you have nothing to learn. You can't be influenced to see things differently if you don't believe there's anything to learn from another person….or from the team. When people engage with you in conversation, do they experience someone who is open or closed? Helpful or unhelpful? If your goal is to be a better teammate, you don't want to leave these questions to chance.

Think about active listening as switching between channels on a television, where you listen with a different ear depending on what's required in the conversation. Your ability to switch channels is especially helpful when someone at work asks you to help them think through something difficult or complex. To be a better teammate, you should ask this question more frequently: How do you want me to listen?