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Why Do Star Leaders Speak Less and Listen More

Professional executive manager briefing her collegues, explaning company strategy during brainstorming. Multiethnical businesspeople working in professional startup financial office during conference

Summary: The biggest difference between a boss and a leader is their ability to listen. A star Leader knows that when you listen more than you talk, you make people feel good about themselves; and they in turn listen more closely when it’s your turn to speak your mind.

How do star leaders boost confidence when in chaos?

Great leaders are great listeners because they realize that knowledge and wisdom are not gained by talking, but by listening. As someone aspiring to be a star leader, how do you realize the value of listening? Read on to find out. 

In 2009, Domino’s Pizza did something only a few companies would have the courage to do. Faced with enormous criticism and negative feedback, they started The Pizza Turnaround1 initiative where they posted their negative feedback and the employee’s reactions to it. They heard people talk about how the “crust tastes like cardboard”, how “the sauce is devoid of flavour”, and admitted how difficult it was to listen to this. Nevertheless, Patrick Doyle, the then CEO made sure that the employees would really, really listen to all the feedback and instead of making minor adjustments actually try to reinvent how the pizza is made. They broke their egos, did not hide what was happening and just opened themselves to all the suggestions their customers had. Till 2016, Domino’s stock price went up from 8.76$ to almost 160$2.

 

So how do you re-realize the value of listening? How do you bring it into your daily practice when most of what everything teaches is how to speak better? Capture the complete essence of what others say and increase the value of your words and presence.

Spending time Thinking more

Listening gives you time to think. It’s because we believe that  we need to quickly contribute before we lose out on the opportunity to do so that we do not get to spend enough time thinking about what we are going to say. We may say something in a way not intended in the manner it was received or not even do justice to our own thoughts. When you are listening, you can build your perspective and actually come upon what might be the correct response which would deliver more impact.

Make the Conversation more Fulfilling

Many executive leaders are so keen on giving their two cents in a discussion, that instead of flying high, their eagerness always lands them flat on the ground. They just don’t listen. When you have heard part of what another person has said and you start responding, you are responding to your perception of what they have said. The quality of a debate or discussion can skyrocket if you give the other person the benefit of completely explaining themselves so that you can be sure about what they mean and truly see it from their perspective.

Inject Weight in What You Have to Say

When it’s your turn to speak, you have to focus on what others have said before. You don’t want to embarrass yourself and put across the same point, and you don’t want to be disrespectful and show you weren’t listening. When you are reactive and actively listening, you truly understand what needs to be said, what can be avoided, which part of the conversation will bring a dull response, and which part will get excitement out of the audience or listeners.

Impact on Leadership

Being a good leader is first and foremost about being an emotionally intelligent person and having a great executive presence. This means that listening as a leader extends beyond keeping quiet, even though keeping quiet and letting the other person talk is definitely the “how” of doing it. Research conducted across more than 200 participants3 shows that the more leaders engage in these activities, the more it creates positive working conditions for employees to flourish. Not only that, research conducted across almost 250 participants4 shows that the more leaders listen, the more employees seek feedback, interpret it properly and use it to boost their self-efficacy.

Star Mindset

If you’re prepared for advanced listening skills, actively seek out opposing viewpoints and ideas rather than just listening to individuals who share your perspectives. Pay attention to people who confront, challenge, stretch, and develop you. True wisdom simply sees opportunity and ignores opposition.

3 Immediately Applicable Action Steps

  1. When your teammates are sharing their ideas, ask follow up questions that allow them to explore their own ideas more. 
  2. Keep a track of how much time you are talking and the other person is talking in a conversation, and actively try to make it in favour of the other person.  
  3. Choose to ask at least 2 people an unsolicited question about how they feel or what work they are doing in a day.

References

  1. New Domino’s Pizza – Oh Yes We Did. (2009). Pizzaturnaround.com. http://pizzaturnaround.com/
  2.  Taylor, B. (2016, November 28). How Domino’s Pizza Reinvented Itself. Harvard Business Review https://hbr.org/2016/11/how-dominos-pizza-reinvented-itself 
  3. Mineyama, S., Tsutsumi, A., Takao, S., Nishiuchi, K., & Kawakami, N. (2007). Supervisors’ Attitudes and Skills for Active Listening with Regard to Working Conditions and Psychological Stress Reactions among Subordinate Workers. Journal of Occupational Health, 49(2), 81–87. https://doi.org/10.1539/joh.49.81
  4. Qian, J., Wang, B., Song, B., Li, X., Wu, L., & Fang, Y. (2017). It Takes Two to Tango: the Impact of Leaders’ Listening Behavior on Employees’ Feedback Seeking. Current Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-017-9656-y

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