The One Leadership Skill You Need To Succeed

There is one leadership skill that will influence your overall success more than any other. If you develop it well, your potential grows enormously—but if you don’t bother to learn it can end up costing you a great deal.

Most people agree on the surface of it: That to become a truly great leader is to become a truly great listener. Pressed to define what makes a great listener, many will say the ability to be silent.

But being silent is not going to make you into a great communicator or a better leader. Instead, follow this simple six-step strategy and L-I-S-T-E-N:

L = Look interested and get interested.

When someone is speaking, signal your interest with your expression and body language—and then get genuinely interested in what they are saying. Think about the motivations and reasons behind their words. In other words, pay attention. Listen in a way that tells them not only that you’re interested but also that they are interesting.

I = Involve yourself only if you’re asked to respond.

Too often instead of genuinely listening, we’re mentally lining up what we want to say next. Instead, train yourself to speak only when you’re asked a direct question. Then respond with empathy and let the clear attention you were able to give as you were listening inform your answer. Learn to listen in the moment without moving ahead.

S = Stay on target.

Listening is a powerfully efficient act, but it’s easy to fall off track. Most of us have an inclination to want to take over, to fix problems, to come up with quick solutions. But the true essence of listening is to stay on target—to be focused on what the speaker needs, not what you think they need. Successful leaders maintain that focus no matter what is going on around them.

T = Test your understanding.

Never pretend to know what you don’t know. We shouldn’t feel ashamed to ask and learn from people, and we should listen carefully to the views of others so we can always speak and act from understanding and empathy. Understanding runs much deeper than knowledge. Many people know a lot, but there are few who understand well. Always remain a student more than a teacher and keep an open mind no matter how much you know. Listen beyond what people say to understand what they mean.

E = Evaluate the message.

We must be silent before we can listen, we must listen before we can learn, we must learn before we can evaluate, we must evaluate before we can assist, and we must assist before we can lead. When it comes to listening and evaluating the message, check in from time to time and ask yourself what it means. Listen to the words that aren’t spoken; listen to understand the silences and the pauses. Make a conscious effort to evaluate the words and context as fully as possible.

N = Neutralize your reactions.

Suspend thought and judgment and allow yourself to just listen and absorb. An essential part of true listening is the discipline of neutralizing your reactions and tempering your feelings. That means setting aside any of your own prejudices, frames of reference or desires to allow yourself to experience the speaker’s world with empathy. When you can neutralize your reactions, the speaker and listener can move into mutual appreciation and true success can be achieved.

Don’t be silent for the sake of listening; listen for the sake of understanding.

Lead from Within: before you talk, listen. Before you react, think. Before you fix, elevate. Before you lead, learn.

 


 

N A T I O N A L   B E S T S E L L E R
The Leadership Gap: What Gets Between You and Your Greatness

After decades of coaching powerful executives around the world, Lolly Daskal has observed that leaders rise to their positions relying on a specific set of values and traits. But in time, every executive reaches a point when their performance suffers and failure persists. Very few understand why or how to prevent it.

buy now

 


Additional Reading you might enjoy:

 

Photo Credit: Getty Images


Lolly Daskal is one of the most sought-after executive leadership coaches in the world. Her extensive cross-cultural expertise spans 14 countries, six languages and hundreds of companies. As founder and CEO of Lead From Within, her proprietary leadership program is engineered to be a catalyst for leaders who want to enhance performance and make a meaningful difference in their companies, their lives, and the world.

Of Lolly’s many awards and accolades, Lolly was designated a Top-50 Leadership and Management Expert by Inc. magazine. Huffington Post honored Lolly with the title of The Most Inspiring Woman in the World. Her writing has appeared in HBR, Inc.com, Fast Company (Ask The Expert), Huffington Post, and Psychology Today, and others. Her newest book, The Leadership Gap: What Gets Between You and Your Greatness has become a national bestseller.

  1. Colin Smith

    31. May, 2016

    Both love and support your message on listening, thank you. I have found this to be so true in my work as The Listener. We are dying to be heard, literally and figuratively. Similarly, feeling heard and knowing that we matter, which comes as a result of listening, enables the listener to think better for themselves.

    Sadly, in this day and age of technology, we are happy to hide behind our screens, we are losing the ability to sit with another and have a dialogue, which as you know, means listening as well as speaking.

    A much needed skill to be remembered.

    Colin

    Reply to this comment
  2. Ryan Friden

    04. Jun, 2016

    Such a great point. Sometimes it can be easy for people in “leadership” positions to do all of the talking, and none of the listening. But I agree that listening is a critical skill for any leader.

    Reply to this comment
  3. Rudy Jo

    13. Jun, 2016

    I think your blog very good , I like it! “No one can hold you to be the best Motivator in the world and the best teacher
    Thank you so much for everything your post on tweeter

    Reply to this comment
  4. Brianna King

    31. Jan, 2017

    Type your comment here…

    Reply to this comment
  5. Connie Coury

    11. Nov, 2017

    An excellent article. I’ve been on a quest to become a better listener for some time now. It’s not been easy either. You’ve written an insightful article with concrete and practical applications to implement. You’re 100 % right. Listening is so crucial to leadership or to any human relationship really. Lots of info is out these days on how to speak. Very little on how to listen, which is actually more important and harder to do well. Thank you for sharing your insights and wisdom.

    Reply to this comment

Leave a Reply