Listening is an important leadership attribute that impacts your ability to communicate effectively. Great leaders are attentive and aware of the thoughts and concerns of those around them. They allow themselves to be influenced and inspired by actively listening to their constituency. In this article, we examine the leadership attribute of listening as it correlates to attentive leadership and discuss the mindset needed for productive listening.

Attentive Leadership Defined

Attentive leadership seeks to increase mutual understanding primarily through active listening. Active listening is the practice of tuning into the meaning that is being conveyed through dialogue. This includes checking to ensure that your interpretations are accurate and that your assumptions are valid. The ability to listen effectively directly impacts the following leadership domains.

 

Leadership Domains and Listening

 

Listening Posture Model

Listening is as common as breathing, and like breathing, it can be taken for granted. By this I mean that we often assume that we are listening when indeed we are not. Many times it has been pointed out that I was in a meeting where an important decision was made and I have very little if any recollection of the event. I may have been there in body, but I was somewhere else in my mind. Other times I become so concerned with defending my position that I am unable to stay focused on the discussion or I walk out of the meeting with no resolution of the issue at hand.

 

The Listening Posture model shown here illustrates how your attention and energy affect your ability to listen in a productive way. Your focus of attention can fluctuate from self to other, and when it comes to listening, being focused on yourself is always less than productive. Empathy is required for productive listening, and that requires you to leave your self-interest, judgment, and biases in order to “step into another’s shoes.” The amount of emotional energy you bring to the situation also affects how well you listen. Too little energy and you will likely appear superficial, while too much energy can lead you to be perceived as reactive.

 

Each of the three regions displayed in the model has distinct attributes that affect how productive our listening is in relation to our ability to lead others.

 

Superficial

Leaders who practice superficial listening often have shallow or weak influencing abilities. To a large extent, you get what you give when it comes to listening. If you are unable to listen to others, they, by and large, will not listen to you—unless it serves them to do so. In this regard you may become a leader of convenience. Others will follow you only as long as your will aligns with theirs. The posture of superficial listeners can be characterized in three ways:

 

• Bored – feeling dull, tired and wearisome.
• Wandering – when your focus is roaming, unfixed, and unfocused.
• Placating – when you feign attention and use conciliatory gestures.

 

Reactive
Leaders who practice reactive listening often have erratic or undependable influencing abilities. This type of listening has a polarizing affect on others—it’s okay if you are of the same mind, but unpleasant if you disagree. This type of behavior keeps the listener from being able to comprehend the intent of the speaker because they are thinking about how they want to respond. Reactive listeners often get stuck on one or two points of disagreement and do not allow the conversation to move beyond those points. Reactive listeners usually end up frustrating and driving others away. The posture of reactive listeners can be characterized in three ways:

 

• Challenging – when you become confrontational and demand explanations.
• Distracting – when you divert the discussion and act out emotionally.
• Contentious – when you become argumentative and quarrelsome.

 

Productive

Leaders who practice productive listening often have strong and dependable influencing abilities. This type of listening inspires trust and loyalty from others. If others feel listened to they are more likely to follow your lead, even if you do not agree with their point of view. They feel respected and cared for. On the flip side, if you are listening in a productive way, you are more likely to learn more and gain a greater appreciation for the various concerns and perspectives of others. This in turn affects the quality of your decision making and planning efforts. Leaders who are in touch with the opinions and emotions of others are able to make choices that are in line with the will of the majority; consequently, they gain greater support. Productive listeners usually end up inspiring others, commanding the respect of others, and drawing others to their leadership. The posture of productive listeners can be characterized in three ways:

 

• Clarifying – when you resolve ambiguity, and seek to remove uncertainty and confusion.
• Attentive – when you are observant, concerned about detail, and courteous.
• Probing – when you explore the depth of the conversation, question closely, and engage others inquisitively.

 

Developing Productive Listening

Listening is a very dynamic activity and most of us go in and out of productive listening. The goal is to be fully present and alert in your listening posture when you need to be. With this in mind, consider these suggestions for improving you productive listening ability.

 

Tune into Yourself – Before entering into important dialogues, get in the habit of searching your state of mind to see if you are able to assume a productive listening posture. Simply check in with yourself to see if you are carrying any emotional energy that could get in the way of your ability to listen proactively. This could show up as conflicting biases, prejudices, beliefs, theories, methods, or understandings. Then check in to determine if you will be able to give your full attention to someone else at this time.

 

Often, just being aware of your energy and emotional levels will allow you to set your concerns aside long enough to listen attentively and productively. If you are able to name or label your concerns, it helps to raise conscious awareness of the issues that you will need to guard against in order to have a productive listening experience. 

Set Boundaries – If you are aware of topic areas that are likely to trigger your emotions or cause you to lose focus, point them out as out of bounds for the discussion. Of course this is not always appropriate, but when it is it can be quite effective. When it is not appropriate to avoid a dicey topic, make your bias known at the outset and acknowledge your struggle with it. Again, just expressing it at the onset of the discussion will often defuse the subject and allow you to be more objective and constructive during the discussion.

 

Reschedule – There are times when issues arise beyond our control and we simply are not going to be able to be present enough for a productive conversation. At these times it is best to reschedule. If you are unable to reschedule, then being honest about your impaired listening condition will help.

Take Notes – To maintain a disciplined focus during a discussion where you fear distraction or high emotion, take notes of key points. If you are going to take notes during an important dialogue, it is wise to keep a few things in mind. In some situations it is best if you let the others know that you are keeping notes in an effort to recall important aspects of the conversation. Also, remember to make eye contact and practice positive non-verbal gestures to let the other person know that you are listening. Lastly, refrain from doodling or making extensive notes during the discussion. The goal is to make note of the highlights of the discussion, not to create an exhaustive narrative.  

 

Manage the Conversation – If the conversation starts to meander and you find yourself losing patience or drifting off, endeavor to get the conversation back on track. Set agendas with agreed upon topics and timelines and use this as a guide to keep the conversation focused. This way you can always refer back to the agenda for support in redirecting the discussion.

 

Mentorship is an ideal type of developmental relationship for increasing your productive listening skills. Most of us can use more accountability in regards to our productive listening posture. Your mentoring partner can be that supportive and understanding guide to help you gain more mastery of your listening ability. Most of us have fallen into less than productive listening habits and it will take a focused effort over a sustained period of time to change them. Your mentoring relationship can provide the context in which to practice this powerful and important leadership attribute.

Practice Exercise

The following exercise can help you discuss with your mentoring partner how to become more productive in your listening.

1. Use the following self-evaluation to assess your listening posture.

Self-Evaluation
Recall a recent conversation that you feel was less than productive. With this memory in mind, rate how closely you agree with the following statements.

 

Superficial Listening Posture (low score is desirable)	Low				High
I felt dull, tired or wearisome (Bored).	1	2	3	4	5
My focus was roaming, unfixed, or unfocused (Wandering).	1	2	3	4	5
I feigned attention or used conciliatory gestures (Placating).	1	2	3	4	5

 

Reactive Listening Posture (low score is desirable)	Low				High
I was confrontational or demanded explanations (Challenging).	1	2	3	4	5
I diverted the discussion or acted out emotionally (Distracting).	1	2	3	4	5
I became argumentative or quarrelsome (Contentious).	1	2	3	4	5

 

Productive Listening Posture (high score is desirable)	Low				High
I resolved ambiguity, uncertainty or confusion (Clarifying).	1	2	3	4	5
I was observant, focused on details, or courteous (Attentive).	1	2	3	4	5
I engaged others and asked attentive questions (Probing).	1	2	3	4	5

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2. Discuss your self-evaluation results with your mentoring partner and solicit his/her perspective of your results.

3. If you have determined that you need to strengthen your listening posture in the future, determine what new actions you are going to take.

4. Set up a time to review your progress with your mentoring partner.

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