Czaro Strategic Communications

When was the last time you read your job description? I bet it’s been many months.

Is “listening” a required skill or ability for your position? It should be. What you have to say is probably important, but what others on your team have to say should carry equal weight.

Yesterday, I was talking with someone in a coffee shop and I could see it in her face that the entire time I was talking she was chomping at the bit to jump in and speak or give me her opinion. Once or twice, I thought she was actually going to cut me off in mid sentence.

She was so focused on what she was going to say next, that I’m not even sure she heard what I was saying. It was an unfulfilling and unproductive conversation (if you can call it that).

When you jump in immediately after someone is done talking it appears that you were just waiting for them to quit so you could talk. This action sends a message that what you have to say is more important than what the other person has to say. It’s conversational bullying.

Pausing a second or two before you respond shows the other person that you’ve listened and indicates you value what they have to say.

Active listening is an underappreciated skill, and one that is essential for today’s managers to master, especially if they have Millennials and Gen Xers as direct reports. For the most part, these workers want to have a voice. They want to contribute and know that what they think matters. They want to be a part of a team.

Verbal give-and-take helps younger workers develop confidence in themselves. Instead of holding back they will share more when given the opportunity and when they know their ideas will not be immediately shot down.

You’re the boss. The final decision will ultimately be yours. If you focus on active listening – truly listening to what your team has to say – the decision will be owned by everyone on the team. And you’ll demonstrate that you care.