Great Leaders Are Great Listeners

More often than not, leaders focus on decisiveness, assertiveness and similar traits. Some don't even think about their ability to listen. Great leaders are great listeners.

There's a simple reason you might overlook the essential relationship between leadership skills and listening skills: The public, visible side of leadership is often more about more the inspirational. Giving speeches, brokering deals and overcoming hurdles are all more glamorous than taking feedback, developing relationships and gathering opinions.

The Skill: Listening

Every leader who accomplished these high-profile successes started by listening. The great orator listened to feedback from test audiences or from a speech writer. The one who formed favorable alliances listened to what everyone said during negotiations. The one who conquered adversity listened to advisors, teammates and maybe even informants.

The details might change from situation to situation, but the reason listening is so important is simple: You can't lead alone. You can't be on the ground performing every task. That means you need to listen to people — you need to seek out information that will let your organization succeed.

The Challenge: Information Overload

A challenge for many leaders when it comes to listening is, they simply get too much information to filter through. In a leadership position, everybody wants to talk directly to you. They want to update you on progress. They want your opinion on resolving problems. It can easily become overwhelming.

One of the most constructive ways to address this is to form a culture where your team gives you only the information you need. Your challenge will be defining your culture clearly enough so everyone can own it — including you and your fellow leaders.

The Solution: Leading with Culture

Here's an example. Imagine you were a contractor and you needed to maintain the highest possible level of safety on all your worksites.

You could try to visit every site daily. You might see some success after you implement this strategy. However, it's unlikely this practice would scale up well. You would eventually become a safety inspector, lagging behind in the leadership tasks only you could do.

By leading with culture, you can create an environment in which every one of your workers and subcontractors knew to report possible safety issues immediately. On the leadership and management side, you could show your commitment to this culture by quickly and appropriately responding to each report.

Leading with culture and listening to what your team members tell you are often closely related. You need to practice the skill to execute the strategy well. Luckily, once you set priorities and limit the amount of input you receive, listening becomes easier. It isn't going to transform your organization overnight, but you should start to see results from the moment you commit.