Tip 122: Learning to Listen

How do we learn to listen with more than our ears? Working remotely has made it easy for leaders to become more transactional, focused on completing a call or task without taking time to ensure understanding. With more and more of our communications in writing or in a virtual format, what cues might we have missed?

• As you read emails, do you get the “gut” feeling something is wrong?

• In online meetings, do you notice a lack of engagement or basic politeness?

• Are team members responding back and forth in one-word answers, or covering the same ground and not getting anywhere?

• Are we ignoring the behaviors that should be grabbing our attention?

Remote work has limited our abilities to pick up body language, facial expressions, fidgeting, sighs, stammering, and lack of energy. As leaders, it is our responsibility to interpret messages, so we gain a clear understanding of our team members and colleagues.

Read Kevin Eikenberry’s book, The Long-Distance Leader, for more information on this topic.