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Jim’s Learning & Inspirational Moments (Jul 2008)

Best Leaders are Listeners!

Hi my friends,

How are you? Do tell me how you are doing. I will give you my full
attention. Author and speaker Jim Rohn says, “One of the greatest gifts you can
give anyone is the gift of attention.”I fully agree with that totally!

2. As a leader, listening to your follower is not just a gift to them. It benefits

the leader too! Many leaders are terrible listeners; they actually think talking is
more important than listening. Excellent leaders know that it is better to listen first
and talk later.

3. Because of my desire to be a more effective listener, I have been actively

observing leaders over the past few years and paid close attention to how the
effective ones listen to others. This month, I will be sharing with all of you why
best leaders are excellent listeners and how listening can impact on your
leadership.

4. I hope this month’ s Learning & Inspirational Moments will provoke

some further reflections on leadership. Have an awesome day and know that
someone has thought about you today...I did.

p/s: For those of you whom are new to this. Hi! Just added you to my mailing list.
I try to exercise my brain muscle by reflecting on life, personal and important
organisational issues and articulate them in writing once every month and share
it with people I care about. Yes, you are now one of those people I would like to
keep in touch with. I hope you will find my writings useful and reflective.

Check out my past monthly reflections, writings and inspirational thoughts

on this website.

http://www.esnips.com/web/LearningInspirationalMoments

“I am not here to make a difference. I am just taking the responsibility of

making my contribution to your growth and learning.”

JIMMY LEE

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Best Leaders are Listeners!

Two hunters are out in the woods hunting when one of them falls to the ground.
He doesn’ t seem to be breathing and his eyes are rolled back in his head.

The other guy whips out his mobile phone and calls 911.
He frantically tells the operator, “John is dead! What can I do?”
The operator, in a calm, soothing voice says, “Just take it easy. I can help.

First, let’
s make sure he’ s dead.”
There is silence, and then a shot is heard.

The guy’
s voice comes back on the line and says, “OK, now what?”

1. Leadership is about influence. Personally, I feel that there is only one skill
that all great leaders recognise as indispensable to their ability to influence
others and succeed. Have you guessed what it is? Yes, it’ s the ability to LISTEN.

2. Very often, we can hear what is said without really listening to what is
being communicated. The story above may seem silly, but it contains an
important truth. When we as leaders hear without really listening, we will make all
the wrong decisions that will affect a lot of people. Our leadership is bound to
suffer- and so will our followers.

3. Effective leaders are excellent listeners. People of influence understand

the incredible value of becoming a good listener. Woodrow Wilson, the twenty-
eighth American president, once said, “The ear of the leader must ring with the
voices of the people.”

Understanding people precedes leading them

4. To be a good and effective leader, you need to understand your people.

You must have insight into their heart. Leaders touch a heart before they
ask for a hand. You cannot connect with someone if you don’t try to listen to
and understand them. So, if you want to be more effective with the people you
lead, connect with them and make it your goal to understand them. To do that,
you need to listen.

5. When people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen. Listening is
the most respectful act one person can do towards another. It signifies that you
value the other person's opinion, and it enhances their feelings of significance. If
you consistently listen to others, valuing them and what they have to offer, they
are likely to develop a strong loyalty to you, even when your authority with them
is unofficial or informal. In other words, good listening skills draws people to
you.

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Listening Establishes Trust

6. A mistake most leaders often make in communication is trying very hard to

impress their followers. They try to make themselves appear smart, witty, or
entertaining. I have personally experienced such a leader in one of my past
posting and I can tell you that it really puts you off. If you want to relate well to
others, you have to be willing to focus on what your followers have to offer. Be
impressed and interested, not impressive and interesting.

7. From my limited leadership experiences, I gathered that what most people

really want is to be listened to, respected, and understood. The moment people
see that they are being understood, they become more motivated to understand
your point of view (Habit 5 for my 7 Habits of Highly Effective People fans).
Listening builds trust, the foundation of all lasting relationships. When
leaders listen to their followers and use what they hear to make improvements
that benefit their followers, then followers put their trust in those leaders.

Listening is the best way to learn

8. It is no accident that we have one mouth and two ears. Our creator wants
us to listen more than we talk because when we fail to listen, we shut off much of
our learning potential. Beware of putting yourself into a position where you think
you know all the answers. Anytime you do, you’ ll be putting yourself in danger.
It’
s almost impossible to think of yourself as “the expert”and continue growing
and learning at the same time. To be a good leader, you must be able to not
only think for yourself but also understand and learn from the thinking of
others. One of us will never be as smart as all of us! I have also learnt that
the farther you get from the front lines, the more you have to depend on others to
get reliable information. A deaf ear is evidence of a closed mind.

9. Is it possible to be a leader without being a listener? Yes, of course. Talk

to your friends or colleagues around you, and they will tell you that they work for
people who do not listen to them.

10. Is it possible to be a good leader without listening? In my opinion, the

answer is no. It is almost impossible because you can never get the best out
of your people if you don’t know who they are, where they want to go, why
they care, how they think, and what they have to contribute. You can only
learn those things only if you LISTEN.

11. My wife and I were recently at a café having breakfast, eavesdropping on

the conversation by a couple sitting beside us. It seemed that both of them were
not listening to one another; instead they were taking turns not listening to one
another. I asked my wife if I still did the same thing. With a smile on her face she
said, “Only sometimes.”

As you can see, I am still trying very hard to be a better listener myself. J
Love. JIMMY LEE
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