Theory and usefulness
The skill area under consideration is listening. Theory on the subject reveals that listening may occur at various levels, starting from the least effective to the most effective. At the bottom of the pyramid is passive listening, which is a synonym for not listening. Usually, this level of listening occurs when the person feels that what the speaker has to say is unimportant.
It takes no effort at all and may be detrimental to organisations with high levels of it. The next level is responsive listening, which is also called pretend listening. In such scenarios, persons will not care about what the speaker has to say but will pretend to listen in order to appease them.
Usually, this process will involve nodding and the use of typical listening cues like ‘aha’ or ‘yes’. Eventually, such persons will not recall what was said. This type of listening is deceitful because it attempts to disguise a listener’s lack of interest in the conversation.
Projective listening is the third worst form of listening; some experts like to call it biased listening. It is an approach in which a person already has a strong opinion about the topic under discussion and will project this opinion onto the speaker. The listener may hear what is being said but his biases may cause him to disregard the speaker’s words.
This person is usually defensive and will not allow the speaker’s assertions to change his opinion about something. In close association with this type of listening is misunderstood listening. Sometimes a person may listen and even be open to suggestion. However, the listener’s interpretations could cause him or her to alter those words in order to fit into their version of the issue.
Such individuals would not know that they are actually engaging in selective hearing as their mistake is not intentional. Nonetheless, it is still as dangerous as the other forms because a person would not truly understand a speaker’s feelings. Organisations with such kinds of managers will be confronted with unexpected departures or conflict since employees will feel misunderstood (Bentley, 2000).
The next level is attentive listening for data alone. In this form of listening, a person concentrates only on the words that someone says and does not bother about the other aspects of communication like non verbal cues or intonation. Therefore, the person will hear what another person has to say but will fail to contextualise it. Such an approach to listening places greater emphasis on facts rather than the motives behind the message.
Effective communication depends on a listener’s ability to understand the feelings and emotions that surround what a speaker is saying. This implies that the communication is still superficial. Managers often require their sales persons to be aggressive or persuasive when pursuing new clients.
Usually, these sales people will exhibit some form of attentive data listening. They might manipulate clients into committing to something, but will not care about the non verbal cues of the customers. As a result, their approach hampers those clients from bringing business back to the firm.
Active listening is an improvement on attentive data listening as it involves understanding the verbal and non verbal forms of communication. At this level, listeners take in the emotions and feelings associated with what is being said. On the other hand, this is still not a superior form of communication because it does not involve empathising with the speaker.
Such managers would understand facts and place matters into context but few of them would use those feelings to react to the speaker. Several individuals adopt this form of communication because they feel constrained by company policy.
Alternatively, others may choose to listen actively because their level of emotional maturity prevents them from engaging deeply. Some people may be too insecure to engage further or others might simply have their own agenda. They may intend on manipulating others thus lacking the ability to identify with the speaker.
A more mature way of listening is empathetic listening. Here, a person pays attention to the voice, the actual words, the cultural background, feelings as well as the non verbal cues of communication.
Sometimes this may involve the pace at which ones speak as well as their facial expression, their volume as well as their style and general feelings. This component also involves reacting and offering feedback to the speaker. Sometimes one may take actual notes of the conversation or mental ones.
Additionally, it may also entail showing understanding in a manner that will minimise the build up of emotions. Managers who engage in such types of listening are quite sincere and successful in their duties (Cohn, 2007).
The top-most level of communication is known as facilitative listening. In this form of communication, the listener will go beyond merely understanding or analysing the emotions and non verbal cues of the speaker. Instead, the person looks out for genuine signs and outputs. It is sometimes possible for speakers to say one thing and do another.
Therefore, facilitative listeners are the most effective because they get to the root of a communication. Studies indicate that some people may be hiding their emotions subconsciously. Therefore, the facilitative listener assists the speaker to reach out into himself and understand the potential he has to solve those problems. He expounds the choices and lets the speaker know that he has his support.
Facilitative listening may not be appropriate for all situations since emergency situations could impede it. Legal issues as well as organisational policy may come in the way of such a method. Managers who exhibit this form of listening are highly valuable. Nonetheless, some of them may be constrained by company policy.
It is a selfless form of listening as it is not motivated by personal gain. Instead, such a listener only wants to assist the speaker to achieve his interests.
Implications of listening in management practice
Management practice is incomplete without proper listening skills. This spans throughout the entire job description. For instance, managers often have to hire new employees when gaps arise or new functions come up. An organisation needs to decipher the truth behind a person’s CV or job application letter.
It is not always possible to write everything about oneself in these documents, so effective listening skills enable administrators to understand a little more detail about the candidate’s competencies. Furthermore, a manager who listens well can also deduce the kind of attitude that the applicant will bring into the organisation. This skill area will thus ensure that managers hire persons who are a right fit for their organisations.
The success or failure of projects depends on managers’ ability to listen. If a person’s department is in charge of a new project, some anomalies may develop along the way. Managers have the capacity to tackle small problems as soon as they arise and thus prevent them from turning into crises. However, this mitigation can only come about when the manager listens to his team members effectively.
Sometimes it may come in the form of a concern. Alternatively, some workers may feel that their strengths are incompatible with the work to which they have been assigned. They may try to convey these insecurities indirectly, and it is only the effective listener who will understand those cues.
Managers who do not focus on these statements may assign workers to project areas that are incompatible with their strengths and this could harm project outcomes.
Effective listening is crucial in management because it gives one ideas on how to enhance performance (Janusik, 2005). For instance, an employee might talk about the need to alter seat arrangements such that they might concentrate on their work. Alternatively, a worker may request for masks from his supervisor to protect him from mould. The effective listener will note these concerns and thus do something about them.
Eventually, the workplace will have fewer workplace injuries and thus greater productivity. In companies where managers listen to employees, people are more likely to give alternative solutions to problems. Therefore, managers are not left with all the work. Additionally, these individuals tend to me more creative as they know that their input will be heard. This adds value to the company and makes it more conducive for growth.
Interactions between management and external stakeholders make the difference between leading firms and insignificant ones. Maintaining strong customer relationships is dependent on how well one listens to one’s clients. Most times, customers with something to complain about will usually request for the manager.
If the manager listens to the client effectively, then the problem will be dissolved and the company will have maintained its reputation. The same applies to customer care efforts. If management does not emphasize the importance of effective listening, then customer-care employees will not listen to consumers and this could lead to dissatisfaction or abandonment of business with the company.
Similar principles apply to interactions between an organisation and its suppliers or other business partners. Managers must maintain satisfactory relationships with their partners or this could cause them to look elsewhere. The only way a business will develop a relationship with its external partners is through listening to them.
Maintaining a positive and conflict-free culture is crucial in heightening production. Managers can build such cultures by listening to others and teaching their subordinates to do the same. This approach prevents misunderstandings and frustrations that stem from being misconstrued. Companies where superiors dominate meetings or rarely allow members to give their input are likely to build resentment in their workers.
Many of them will start discussing these issues amongst each other and may even back bite their superiors. Such individuals tend to focus more on gossip and rumours rather than work.
Likewise, a manager may boost morale by listening to the things that motivate their workers. Not all employees can respond to the same incentives or rewards. Therefore, managers ought to pay attention to these aspects in order to customise reward plans to each employee. This would definitely increase outcomes and make for a better work environment.
Action plan
The action plan involved a six – step process. First, I identified the listening approach that I use and why I need to improve it. I realised that I used to engage in attentive data only listening. This came from the fact that I never knew how to read people’s non verbal cues.
Whenever someone spoke about body language, I always failed to understand what they were saying. Additionally, I have always been a practical, hands-on person. Social interactions are not my forte, so reading people’s unsaid messages was definitely a challenge.
The next step in the action plan was understanding nonverbal communication by observing someone who was really good at it. During that week, I found that the person was rarely distracted when talking to others. In other words, she rarely focused on her phone, email or other distractions when conversing. I also found that she was available to her colleagues every time they called on her.
It seemed that she had a positive attitude towards these persons all the time. My colleague was keen on making eye contact but she also observed what was around her. When I asked her how she read non verbal cues, she maintained that posture was the first thing she considered. If a person slouched and rested his head on his arm, then she would deduce that the person was disinterested.
Additionally, facial expressions were an immediate give away. She said that sometimes people smiled yet their eyes sent a totally different message. Therefore, she preferred to rely on the latter than the former.
My communication role model also seemed to react to the dynamics of voice as she would increase or decrease it in response to the speaker. She usually gave feedback to others and even repeated some of the things the person was saying.
After knowing what active listening entailed, I started working on identifying the barriers that keep me from listening accurately and thoroughly. First I noticed that I always have a lot on my mind when speaking to people (Moulic, 2012). Sometimes this causes me to get distracted as I will plan my day or think about where I will buy supper.
This tendency to clatter my mind with several things is what keeps me from reading non verbal cues. I have also realised that I did not understand some of the cultural cues for non verbal communication. I was simply not aware of these components, so it was difficult for me to identify and respond to them in kind. I have always been a matter-of-fact person who focuses on the bottom line in any of life’s endeavours.
Therefore, it is easy for me to look for the main point in everything and dismiss the rest. Another obstacle that prevents me from listening actively to others is the frequency of communication. I hate the silence that comes between certain phrases and will say anything to fill that gap.
I needed to get comfortable with momentary periods of silence during conversations. Sometimes when people speak, I may start thinking about what to say in return, and this prevents me from engaging with the speaker. Anxiety causes me to dwell on the things that will come next rather than what they are actually saying.
Another reason that causes me to be an ineffective listener is that I have never encouraged other people to keep speaking. Most times, lack of eye contact or poor response to people’s expressions can cause me to misunderstand them. Perhaps the biggest obstacle is the lack of intent to listen. Once I change this attitude, then everything else will fall in place.
I also used memory aids in order to identify the instances that led me to ineffective listening. First, I bought a diary in which I would write about my communication experiences for the day. I would recall instances in which I had not understand non verbal cues and would describe them at length.
Sometimes these scenarios would be concentrated in one session but in other instances they would be distributed in different scenes throughout the day. I used my mobile phone as a recording device. It was quite insightful to listen to my own voice from an objective point of view. I found that it was easy to detect tension-filled moments or situations when I was contemplating what to say.
The next phase of my action plan was going through listening exercises. One of the exercises I found useful was listening to all the information I could absorb before making a contribution. I practiced delaying my responses until all the information in the conversation had been collected (Emanuel et. al., 2008).
I also found that if I focused on what was new rather than what I already knew, then I was more likely to listen to the person. The tendency to respond to what I had heard before often caused me to be too engaged with my own issues rather than to listen to the speaker. Therefore, I practised focusing on the things that I did not know rather than what I knew.
The last component of the action plan involved practising habits of active listening. For this part, I approached my role model and had an imaginary conversation. In one instance, we talked about the food at a common restaurant.
She stated the following: “Am so frustrated by the soup at Ramitas; it always seems bland or too spicy. They just can’t seem to get it right.” I replied by saying “Oh, is that so? I had no idea.” My role model congratulated me on that reply because it came at the right time. She also noticed that I was maintaining good eye contact and did not confront her.
I am still working on the last part of the action plan as I will forward my findings to the tutor in order to get acknowledgement. I am also working on my personal approach to listening as I would like to move from active listening to the most advanced method of listening, which is facilitative listening.
Outcomes
The outcomes of improved listening will be better results in school as well as in other gatherings. If I listen better in class, I will recall more and thus increase my chances of passing exams. Additionally, it is likely that I will strengthen the relationships I have with my friends.
When I remember what my friends say, many of them will be impressed by this and will feel connected. Active listening can also cause me to make new friends easily as I will recall important details about their lives.
Currently, learning to listen to non verbal cues will allow me to detect instances in which gestures do not match behaviour. This will allow me to seek clarification on what the speaker really means. In essence, I will deal with hidden issues that make people unhappy.
In the future, when I become a manager, it is likely that I will be an effective supervisor. My subordinates would trust me with their ideas because they would know that I will listen to them. The employees may become more comfortable with the workplace as they will have a senior who listens to them.
Measures of achievement
In order to determine whether I have succeeded in being an active listener, I will use a pen and paper to analyse conversations. I will write down the things that the person was saying. If I cannot remember any of these words, then it proves that I was not listening actively.
I will also get back to speakers on a weekly basis and try to interpret what they meant to say during conversations we had with them using their non verbal cues. If the speaker agrees that my interpretation of their feelings was accurate, then I will have succeeded. In other words, I will match their mood with their non verbal forms of communication (King et. al., 2006).
I will also engage in practice sessions with friends. In this regard I will ask them certain questions like how they spent their weekend. I will then expect them to ask me questions about what they said and whether they actually meant it. If I give them correct answers, then I will have become a good active listener.
References
Bentley, S. (2000). Listening in the 21st century. International Journal of Listening, 14 (3), 129–142.
Cohn, K. (2007). Developing effective communication skills. Journal of Oncology practice, 3(6), 314-317.
Emanuel, R., Adams, J., Baker, K., Daufin, E. K., Ellington, C. and Fitts, E. (2008). How college students spend their time communicating. International Journal of Listening, 22(2), 13–28.
Janusik, L. (2005). Conversational listening span: A proposed measure of conversational listening. International Journal of Listening, 19(4), 12–28.
King, G., Servais, M., Bolack, L., Shepherd, T. & Willoughby, C. (2012). Development of a measure to assess effective listening and interactive communication skills in the delivery of children’s rehabilitation services. Disability Rehabilitation Journal, 34(6), 459-469
Moulic, M. (2012). Developing effective listening skills to enhance professional efficiency. International Peer Reviewed Journal, 3(22), 64-87.