“Listening is a magnetic and strange thing, a creative force. The friends who listen to us are the ones we move toward. When we are listened to, it creates us, makes us unfold and expand.” –Karl A. Menniger
Any organization, any leader or any person who wants to get better results just needs to listen better. Most people when they listen aren’t really listening to what is being said. Instead they are likely to be thinking about other things and paying attention to their own thoughts rather than your words. It might just feel like words are going into thin air.
Just by spending more effort any person can improve communications results. All it takes is putting energy into listening.
Organizations that are implementing Agile methods often overlook how critical listening is in the process. Are the teams, the stakeholders, product owners, customers and leaders really listening? Probably not. Not at the level that it takes to understand what other people are saying.
Meetings are often held where the words of the speaker are competing with text messaging, email, web surfing, side conversations, or day dreaming. The few that might be listening are only paying attention to part of the words that are being said and not really putting an effort into understanding what is being said. For an organization that represents a huge loss of time and a huge opportunity to improve results.
The next time you are in a meeting virtual or face-to-face notice the level of engagement. What is really going on? Notice your own level of participation (listening to understand). Do you notice yourself losing focus? Is the speaker focused and delivering content on point?
What do you think needs to improve?
Thinking about Agile 