Is your entrepreneur overflowing with ideas but feeling frustrated that no one is listening? This episode reveals how you can step up as a vital sounding board, transforming those fleeting thoughts into actionable plans. Entrepreneurial team expert Shannon Waller explains how enhancing your listening skills makes you an invaluable asset to your entrepreneur. While you get to collaborate creatively with your entrepreneur, you’ll also usher in new solutions that drive growth for your company.
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Show Notes:
Be A Great Sounding Board
Volunteer to listen: When your entrepreneur shares an idea, express interest in scheduling time to learn more about it.
Capture ideas: Keep a running list of your entrepreneur’s ideas in something that you can access from your phone, like Trello or Asana, anytime a new idea comes up. Before the discussion, make a note about what intrigued you about the idea or what questions you immediately have.
Be present: Clear your mind and focus on the conversation. If you’re distracted, your entrepreneur will sense it and share less.
Listen generously: Use phrases like, “Tell me more” to invite deeper discussion. Lean in physically to show engagement.
Create a safe space: Make it comfortable for the entrepreneur to express their thoughts, even if they lead to a “bad idea.”
Capture the summary of main points: This is easy to do with Strategic Coach® tools, but even typing out the key points discussed afterwards takes the idea from the “make it up” stage closer to “make it real.”
Characteristics Of A Great Listener
Enthusiastic and curious: Show genuine interest in the ideas being shared.
Translates back: Reflect back what you hear using phrases such as, “It seems like … ” or “It sounds like … ”
Great interviewing skills: Ask questions about what intrigues you and what the context is—what the problem is that this idea solves. Or, repeat the last three words to confirm that you’re listening and encourage further expansion.
Add your viewpoint: Adding your own thoughts shows you’re listening and thinking about what is said.
Tools For Effective Conversations
Use Strategic Coach tools: Tools such as The Strategy Circle and Impact Filter can help guide discussions.
The Strategy Circle®: Identify goals, obstacles, and strategies.
The Impact Filter™: Discuss the purpose, importance, ideal outcome, and success criteria.
Certainty/Uncertainty Focus: Explore what is known and unknown about the idea to get more clarity about who should be doing what.
Approach With The Right Mindset
Be curious, not ego-driven: Focus on the entrepreneur’s ideas rather than seeking personal recognition.
Use your strengths: No matter your strengths, lean in to them to balance your entrepreneur’s strengths.
Enjoy the process: Embrace the creative act of ideation with your entrepreneur.
Be open: Keep an open mind to new ideas, but also be willing to let them go if they turn out to be not worth pursuing.
Final Thoughts
Transformational impact: Your role as a sounding board can lead to significant breakthroughs for the entrepreneur and the team.
Recognize your skills: You may already possess these listening skills. Acknowledge and enhance them for greater impact.
Make it real: Your engagement can help flesh out creative ideas by taking them out of the headspace and into the action space.
Resources:
Never Split The Difference by Chris Voss, CEO and founder of The Black Swan Group
The Strategy Circle: Your Life As A Strategy Circle by Dan Sullivan
The Impact Filter
Strategic Coach Ambition Series quarterly books
What is the Collaborative Way®?
CliftonStrengths®
Tools for capturing ideas on the go: Trello, Asana
Inside Strategic Coach podcast with Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller
questions@strategiccoach.com