Art by Jemma
Our experience shows something quite fascinating about workplace listening. Leaders who truly listen, and act on what they hear, create teams where people feel understood and valued. Those that don’t, don’t. Teams that feel valued are teams that contribute positively to the successful outputs of the organisation. To get here you need leaders who can listen, and leaders who are emotionally intelligent enough to not have to be the focus.
This starts with listening skills. Effective listening skills for leaders isn’t just about keeping your ears open during conversations. The real magick happens when leaders develop themselves emotionally enough so they can provide an environment where honest dialogue flows naturally, issues are brought out into the open with no judgement, leading to productivity and solution-focused work.
This article looks at some of the effective listening skills for leaders to develop so that your organisation can improve its leadership.
Effective Listening Skills for Leaders: Beware The Multitasking Trap
Let’s be brutally honest, multitasking is a myth. Research from Stanford University shows that multitasking can reduce productivity by as much as 40%. What we think is multitasking is actually our brain’s version of having too many tabs open, constantly clicking between browser windows. So for leaders serious about listening better, single-tasking is crucial. Stop checking emails during meetings or planning your next meeting while someone’s speaking.
The magick happens when leaders can combine focused attention with single-tasking. That’s when listening transforms from merely hearing words to truly understanding the team.
Getting To The Heart of Listening: Understanding Emotions
We believe great leadership happens in the spaces between words. While anyone can hear what’s being said, the real magick lies in understanding the emotions, fears, and hopes that shape every conversation. Though many leaders will profess that they always put their people first, not every leader can understand other people’s emotions, fears, and hopes effectively enough.
Effective Listening Skills for Leaders: Reading the Emotional Room
Research shows individuals differ significantly in their ability to spot others’ emotions, which directly impacts how well they handle social situations. This isn’t just nice-to-have knowledge, people who understand emotions build stronger relationships and perform better at work. This also means they’ll make better leaders.
Leaders need the proper support to help them understand their emotional triggers, which in turn helps them cope with other people’s emotions. The higher up in the organisation you are, you need to have more respect for other people, lead by example and be prepared to be viewed as “part of the problem” at work, and all the emotions that go with that.
Sometimes our brains can’t tell the difference between a difficult conversation and physical danger, so when leaders know their own emotional triggers, they can better support others non judgementally.
Effective Listening Skills for Leaders: Building Bridges Through Empathy
Which brings us onto empathy. Empathy is so powerful in leadership, we can all recall examples where our leaders have shown absolute zero skills here. True empathetic listening goes deeper than words. Sometimes, especially when emotions run high, just being fully present makes all the difference. It’s what Brené Brown calls “holding space,” listening without judgement while staying emotionally connected.
Leaders who listen with empathy build stronger teams and see higher engagement. When you blend emotional intelligence with genuine listening, something magickal happens. People feel safe to share their real thoughts and concerns. This creates fertile ground where new ideas grow and authentic connections flourish.
Using Effective Listening Skills: Start With Safe Spaces
When people feel safe to speak up without fear of punishment, this is where you start to get some of that real honest context for issues at work. This can only start when your leaders can truly provide a safe space. Leaders who are still in development on any of the effective listening skills will struggle. You’ll want to look for leaders who can share their own learning journey around listening, those who can admit listening mistakes and share vulnerabilities.
When your leaders are ready, this is when they can give someone 100% of their attention (no looking at their phones), and they can hold space for others without judgement (because they understand their own emotions and have a required level of empathy), then it’s time to start demonstrating these effective listening skills so that the organisation can learn from is being said.
Making Listening Count: From Words to Action
So you’ve got your leaders all trained up, and they’re gathering valuable feedback. Then what? We’ve seen it countless times, leaders who listen but never act. Nothing kills trust faster than this. When listening turns into visible changes that make work better for everyone, this is the return on investment for all that personal development work. How many staff engagement surveys just end with the publication of the results? Studies show employees feel twice as valued when leaders follow through and explain what they did with the feedback.
Organisations that create action plans from employee feedback see significant boosts in employee engagement. These plans need specific goals, clear measures, and real deadlines owned and delivered by leaders. That’s right, a focus group made up of the same staff who have already told you they are not engaged is not enough! When leaders visibly act on feedback, it changes the whole culture, making improvement and openness part of everyday work.
The Art of Leadership Listening
We’ve taken quite a journey through the art of listening in leadership. Each piece – being present, understanding emotions, creating safe spaces, and acting on feedback, – works together to create something truly magickal.
When leaders master these listening skills, teams perform better, people feel more engaged, and organisations thrive. Good listening changes more than just the leadership style, it has the power to transform your entire organisation’s culture. Like ripples in a pond, empathy can spread throughout your organisation, creating lasting positive change. You just have to work with the right people to get your leaders to this point.
References
Credit where credit is due, we aim to cite our sources because we value truthful content. 3 sources were referenced during research to write this content, but you are encouraged to follow our links as well.
- K Shumake (2020) Letting Go of Distractions. BeWell News
- Israelashvili J, Fischer A. Recognition of Emotion from Verbal and Nonverbal Expressions and Its Relation to Effective Communication: A Preliminary Evidence of a Positive Link. J Intell. 2022 Dec 28;11(1):6. doi: 10.3390/jintelligence11010006. PMID: 36662136; PMCID: PMC9862275.
- Kriz TD, Kluger AN and Lyddy CJ (2021) Feeling Heard: Experiences of Listening (or Not) at Work. Front. Psychol. 12:659087. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.659087
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