Lend Me Your Ear: The Power of a Listening Leader

Lend Me Your Ear: The Power of a Listening Leader

Shawn Claybrooks | 2024

Abstract

Listening comprises all aspects of our lives and is an activity that people of all ages engage in every day. It is a skill that is essential to personal and professional development and can be cultivated. Listening has the power to heal, unify, restore, and bring clarity to individuals as well as entire organizations. The purpose of this manuscript is to evoke people to be mindful and attentive in their understanding of how powerful listening is. From that understanding they recognize listening is not just an act that involves sitting still and hearing words, but it also encompasses observations of the eyes, intuition, and silence. This work delves into the “focus” and “why” of a listening leader and presents valuable insights into how past and present experiences act as listening filters that can either hinder or support the listening process. This work addresses stress and how it affects Homeostasis in the body and becomes a barrier to the listening process. Numerous examples are provided of leaders who used listening in strategy development and leaders who refused to listen costing organizations millions of dollars. The paper concludes with listening lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic and how those lessons can support leaders in the 21st Century. Powerful stories and reflective activities are used all throughout the manuscript to drive home important truths, reinforce learning, and provide opportunities for real life application. Lastly, the mission of this manuscript is to provoke the reader to commit to becoming a leader who listens.