How to be a Better Leader by Being a Better Listener

In this episode of the Being Human is Good For Business Podcast, Trilogy Effect partners Heather Marasse, Wendy Appel and Mary Beth Sawicki discuss listening skills as a ‘superpower’ and explain how learning to listen generously can transform a good leader into a truly great one. 

“Like everyone who is lucky enough to have their sense of hearing, most leaders have been listening all their lives,” explains Managing Partner Heather Marasse. “But that doesn't mean they’re actually listening well. It takes a certain openness and curiosity as well as the patience to let things unfold naturally.” 

Listening is automatic for most people, and what an individual actually takes in is based on the filters they use to process and understand the world around them.   

Partner Wendy Appel explains, “When a colleague is talking, you might think, ‘I already know what you're going to say. Can you just get to the point? Hurry up so I can talk’, for example. This is listening in order to speak. But great leaders listen actively beyond their filters and encourage their team to share their ideas and opinions. This is how they fuel innovation and create new possibilities.” 

The profound impact of this superpower is often realized quickly as leaders put their generous listening skills to work. 

“One recent coaching client told us that she was convinced she didn’t have the right people on her team,” says Partner Mary Beth Sawicki. “She had some very clear ideas about these individuals and what they could and, more importantly, couldn’t do. Practicing generous listening allowed her to more clearly see the people she’s at work with, and to understand them better. Now she leads a high functioning team that’s delivering wonderful results. She loves them.” 

The good news is that, like any skill, you can learn how to be a generous listener and you can constantly improve through practice.  Listen to this podcast to find out how. 

You will also learn: 

Practical leadership tips you can put to work right away

How to make meetings better and more valuable for everyone

How to develop your listening skills to become your best as a leader. 

Links to helpful resources and information about some of the tools and concepts mentioned on the show:

Listening: The Most Important Leadership Skill

Trilogy Effect’s free leadership guidebook to be as your best self as a leader

Our free newsletter, full of leadership advice and practical tips.

Alignment: What It Is and Why It Matters

What is Generous Listening?

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