Evaluating the Importance of Listening in Leadership Essay

: "Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen." We have all heard that famous quote from a very legendary leader, Winston Churchill. In this particular quote, I believe Churchill puts the emphasis on the aspect of listening. As easy as it is for us to speak our thoughts, feelings, and emotions, is it really as easy to listen? Throughout this paper, I will focus on why listening is important in leadership. I will identify different ways to listen, what effective listening is, and how it can impact leadership.

Listening is a profession setting allows us to form relationships with other coworkers, understand the needs and wants of others, properly understand the tasks at hand, and be able to differentiate between the levels of communication other have. Listening enables us to be able to perform better in a job and understand what others expect of you. Some significant barriers that are apparent in a communication setting would be noise, the inability to function as an active listener, and the failure to limit distractions. Many times we are given the chance to properly react to these barriers. By doing so, we allow ourselves to be much more effective in the work environment and allow others to be effective as

Given that listening accounts for 45 per cent of time spent on communication (Eunson 2012:310), argue the importance of listening skills in the workplace. Your analysis should identify three specific listening behaviors and provide examples to demonstrate how these skills promote communication and understanding. Support your analysis with relevant communication theory and evidence from appropriate academic sources.

Ineffective communication is often cited as the number one reason organizations are not as effective as they could be (Coughlin, 2014). For an effective leader, interpersonal communication skills are one of the most critical leadership skills to master (Marquis & Huston, 2012). Communication within an organization can be very complex and at times difficult to navigate; the effective leader will be assertive and will display active listening in their interpersonal communication style (Marquis & Huston, 2012). Assertive communication does not infringe on another person’s rights and allows for open, direct and honest communication (Marquis & Huston, 2012). Active listening requires that the leader allow for the entire conveyance of the message before formulating a response; giving both time and attention to other participant (Marquis & Huston,

When asked to define a leader, most would define one by naming traits such as self-confidence, ambition, and determination. Although these are great qualities, this does not define a leader. A leader is someone in a position of authority who has ability to influence a group through effective communication reaching a common goal. (Robbins, DeCenzo, & Coulter, 2015) Effective leaders work diligently to motive and inspire groups through their actions. This paper is a synopsis of communication and how effective leadership can drive an organization to success.

In “Great Communication Secrets of Great Leaders” John Baldoni identifies ways in which communication defines leadership. Communications defines leadership by developing and reinforcing the bond of trust, affirming the organizational vision, facilitating a two-way flow or information, creating the impetus for organization effectiveness, and driving results. All of these traits of communication are important for a leader to convey. They allow him or her to inform people, involve everyone, ignite people’s imaginations, and invite participants.

A key concept leadership must understand is communication. It is important to emphasize the significance of this concept, for within communication lies the success or failure of any form of leadership. Communication must be clear and concise. The basic principles of communication must be understood. Sender, receiver, and message. Leadership, specifically good leadership creates a culture free of reprisal and encourages communication feedback and input. Allowing feedback ensures that all involved understand what is being asked of them. Leadership understands those providing constructive feedback may see a better way. The potential to identify an overlooked issue or potential hazard may be realized during this exchange of information. Leadership must balance feedback, it is leadership who by observable action, and example set the ground rules for the tone and manner of communication and feedback. There are times when things just need to happen, and times when things are open to discussion. Too much discussion can yield the same results as too little. Leadership is possessing and understanding clear communication and listening skills. These concepts are the cornerstones of solid

“Leadership is accomplished through communication – what a leader actually says and does in interaction” (Galanes & Adams, 2013).. Modern society is continually changing, and leaders who are flexible, culturally sensitive, creative and display sound communication skills are crucial.

Effective communication plays a pivotal role in the workplace. Effective communication is accomplished when the transfer of information, meaning and understanding from a sender to a receiver is successful. Therefore, effective communication requires a two-way exchange of the proper information. Achieving effective communication is vital to being a successful supervisor. This is because the majority of the day is spent giving and receiving information. Just like a parent that wants their child to feel comfortable talking to them about things, a supervisor wants to encourage an environment for their employees to communicate. Therefore, a supervisor must know how to receive information and understand the messages sent by employees. Also, just as entry-level employees must understand their supervisor’s instructions, a supervisor must also be able to fully understand messages given to them from high-level

It is essential for business leaders to have excellent verbal and non-verbal communication skills, as leaders are often a symbol of a company’s integrity and this affects not only how customers perceive the company, but also impacts the thoughts and actions of lower positioned employees. For example, a leader that speaks using improper grammar, or writes correspondence with spelling errors throughout it, could project a negative image that can be harmful to a company. Customers might conclude that the leader is incompetent and they might decide that they do not wish to purchase goods from a company that hires inept leaders. Furthermore, employees might become less apt to respect an authority that appears to be uneducated, as well as employees might feel that if the leader disregards using proper communication than it is not necessary for them to use it either. Business leaders need to know when to listen, when to talk, and how to share ideas effectively. Clear and concise communication states exactly how, who, what, and when and serves to guide, direct, protect, persuade, and to inform. Communication is essential for decreasing miscommunications and for increasing productivity, motivation, and efficiency. When someone uses effective communication, he or she is more apt to have favorable results and his or her requests will become granted more often. Furthermore, communication builds goodwill. Having excellent communication skills is

Interaction with people in the workplace can be challenging and frustrating. Technology has changed the way we communicate with one another; for instance, email is a preferred method of communication compared to an in person meeting. This way of communication can create problems and tension among employees. One’s perception of the message becomes reality, causing lack of communication and for the message to be lost in translation. It is crucial to develop listening skills in order to be responsible for receiving and sharing accurate information.

Communication would fall under the good listener category of being a leader. Communication is a key component to being a good listener because if you don’t communicate to whomever you are speaking with then some things might get lost in the process. The leader of a team will have to listen to their boss then relay the message to his or her team, and that’s where paraphrasing takes a good part in communication and listening skills. A good leader is always communicating with other leaders and trying to find out other good ideas they can use to improve some of their techniques.

Brownell (1987) found in her study of listening behaviors that there are five factors. The factors included sensitivity and considers emotional component of a message; understands and recalls information accurately; objective and nonjudgmental; concentrates and encourages information sharing and provides

You have to pay attention to the contents of conversation to have a meaningful conversation; simply hearing is different from listening courteously. Hearing is a passive; listening has a proactive meaning; listening can be defined as the ability to accurately receive and interpret messages in the communication process that requires sustained effort and full attention to the other party. (SkillsYouNeed, 2016)[1] The basis of communication is listening in the business; listening is important to maintain relationships among employees and customers to develop trust between each other. For example, if you do not listen to employees, you cannot develop trust due to misunderstanding. It is important to be an attentive listener so that employee knows you are sincerely interested in what they have to say. (Tingum, 2016)[2]. In order to develop listening skill, ‘Free Management Library’

workplace as well. Communication is an essential skill that we cannot avoid, and should be perfected as a goal in improving your leadership efficiency. When in a leadership role, the leader