Sneak Peek From Tom Goodlet’s Upcoming Book, Listen Like Jesus (Working Title)
I am not a great listener. There I said it. That feels good to let it out in the open. In fact, I say a lot of things. Why? Because I identify more as a talker than a listener. I often think aloud and often bounce my thoughts off other people that happen to be around me at the time.
So why would a self-identified talker write about listening? Because of all the leadership skills I have studied, practiced, and measured, listening is by far the most effective, inspiring, efficient, and necessary skill for any individual, church, and business to succeed.
And yet it is one of the first skills we tend to set to the side when trying to lead others.
Do you know what is the most common complaint in the workplace? It is “My boss doesn’t listen to me.”
And it doesn’t just happen in the workplace. Husbands, how many times have our wives told us, “I don’t want you to fix it. I just want you to listen.”
Maybe we would know the actual number of times they have said it if we were listening?
Parents, how many times have our kids tried to tell us what was really going on, but they could not get a word in because of all the advice we were busy giving them?
Listening is an easy skill to do reluctantly, or not at all. And yet, our brains, our productivity, and quality of life are dependent upon it. So, what do we do? Listen more. And listen better. There are some great listening skills to be learned and practiced, including ones I will share in these writings.
#leadershipdevelopment
#activelistening