Are the bosses listening?
THE NEXT time you are in conversation with someone, think about this question. In a world hard pressed for time, few people have the inclination to listen to what others have to say. Most of the time they are simply caught in the babble of their own voices or thoughts, busy formulating their own replies and opinion, rather than actually listening to what the other person has to say.
Creating a listening culture in the workplace is a tough challenge confronting organisations. Let's suppose you have a novel idea. You are eager to share it with your boss. But the boss does not even bother to hear you out. In less than a minute after you begin, he cuts you off with a formulated response. You head back hurt, wary and bitterly disappointed.
What are the chances that you will share another good idea with your boss? The next time you have a good idea, you may decide to sell it to a competitor! Who can blame you? A manager who fails to listen to his employees is actually talking himself out of business.
As far as leaders are concerned, listening or apathy is not an individual proclivity. Owing to the position they are in (i.e., the position to set an example), it can pervade the organisational culture and influence the bottom line too. Therefore, it is important that managers make time to listen to what their employees have to say. Managers who never ask for feedback from staff can at best only expect mediocre results.
In an article on listening skills posted at techrepublic.com, writer Poly Traylor cites the example of Manny Steil, (a listening expert and CEO of Communication Development, Inc., founder of the International Listening Association.), who helped transform the work culture and business bottomline of a major corporation, way back in 1979.
According to her, Sperry Corp (one of the original mainframe manufacturers that later became Unisys) hired Steil to incorporate the theme of listening into its advertising campaign. Instead, Steil convinced the company that if listening were the corporate quality they wanted to convey to the public, the company's staffers should first inculcate the habit. Over the next five years, Steil trained thousands of managers at the company. The managers then took over the responsibility of training their employees on listening skills. Eventually around 44,000 Sperry workers learned the basic tenets of listening.
The company reaped benefits in the form of improved customer service and satisfaction, more profits and better morale. The culture of listening and responsiveness has been attributed as a prime reason for the company's phenomenal business success.
Listening, much like writing or language skills, is an acquired ability. Given their busy schedules, many managers often encounter difficulties in effective listening. Seldom do they have the time for small talk, which is actually essential to put the speaker at ease and remove plausible apprehensions in the minds of employees. Small talk sets an affable and friendly environment that is conducive to an intelligent, no holds barred, conversation. Another common drawback with some people is that of selective listening. They listen well on subjects close to their heart, but on other topics, they automatically switch off their mental gears.
One more issue that managers have to contend with is that of distractions. Distractions may range from noise in the room, phone calls, people walking in and out of the room, or even a person's own physical or emotional discomfort unrelated to the conversation. Or perhaps the manager may be trying to `multi-task'. He may for example, be answering a phone call, signing letters, and in between trying to catch snatches of what the other person is trying to say. This unfortunately distracts the listener, upsets him, and merely demoralises the speaker.
Listening is an activity that requires single handed focus. Good listeners must understand how these disturbances diminish their ability to listen, and filter them out.
Other habits that diminish your capacity to listen include annoying behaviour such as interrupting the speaker, avoiding eye contact, rushing the speaker or making him feel that he is wasting your time, not responding to the speaker's requests, switching back and forth to other subjects, or forgetting what was talked about previously.
Listening is sometimes more important than speaking for managers. To be an effective listener, it is important to practise some `linguistic chivalry'. Be polite, don't interrupt and suspend judgment until after the speaker has had his say. Paraphrase and summarise to show that you are actively listening.
Pay attention to your body language. Ask questions. People respond better when they feel included, so make it a practice to invite feedback from employees even when you are giving them instructions. For example, instead of telling them, `I need you to be productive,' try asking them, `How can I help you become more productive?' or `How can we be more productive?'
Consider implementing forums through which you could gain regular insights and inputs from employees. Consider weekly team meetings or one-to-one sessions with your immediate subordinates to formulate objectives, measure progress and air grievances.
Make listening a part of day to day work culture. When you lead by example, your employees will soon fall in step.
BINDU SRIDHAR
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