The Power of Listening in Leadership

By Matt Richart, Digital EFX

How many of you have asked a question to a team member at work, a friend, your wife, or a family member, and don’t even listen to their response? I’m going to raise my hand and admit that I used to do this all the time. My wife would say I continue to do this daily. I would disagree and say that I’m still working on this change in my listening skills. For some reason, it started to become more evident when I realized that I had already assumed their answer. Then why was I asking the question in the first place? 

My personality trait is to become the life of the party. Tell jokes. Interact with everyone around me and make people feel comfortable in any situation that I’m in. I’m big on communication, creating relationships, and using verbal interactions as tools to bring more business into our company. I would also find myself trying to diffuse situations or smooth things over by instantly communicating with a response without knowing any information that would allow me to make a better decision or use correct judgment. It started to become an uphill battle for me when I couldn’t resolve problems quickly at work. I wondered why a guy who could communicate and get on people’s level was not able to correct a problem effectively. Once I start to get frustrated, I realize that it’s probably an issue with me or how I’m handling the situation. When I began my leadership education journey, the first step that opened my eyes was “Am I truly listening?”.

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