{"id":1266,"date":"2013-08-02T14:03:29","date_gmt":"2013-08-02T14:03:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chadstutzman.net\/?p=1266"},"modified":"2013-08-06T18:52:45","modified_gmt":"2013-08-06T18:52:45","slug":"the-one-skill-that-will-transform-your-leadership","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chadstutzman.com\/?p=1266","title":{"rendered":"The One Skill That Will Transform Your Leadership"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"distracted-businessman-meeting-w291x412\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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When it comes to leadership development there are so many resources out there that it can be hard to know what to focus on.\u00a0 I love reading about leadership and how to develop solid healthy relationships.\u00a0 Developing as a leader is vital for you to survive in your work environment, your home environment and in your own personal internal world.<\/p>\n

There is no magic pill to take to become a great leader.\u00a0 It takes hard work, patience, failure and learning from experience to become a great leader.\u00a0 The same can be said of a great marriage or relationship.<\/p>\n

The one skill that I have kept coming back to, that makes the most difference is listening.\u00a0 If I had to name one skill that could make the biggest difference in any organization, family, marriage or individual it would be listening.<\/p>\n

When the people around you truly believe you are listening to them they feel that you care and value them.\u00a0 That creates a place where people feel safe, trusted and valuable.\u00a0 When people don’t believe you are listening to them, it creates many negative emotions like fear, anger, frustration, helplessness and indifference.<\/p>\n

Entire books have be written about listening, but I want to give you a few simple things you can do at work and home to improve your listening quickly.<\/p>\n

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  1. Stop trying to multitask<\/strong> – When you are in a meeting or someone is talking to you, stop what you are doing, turn your body to face them, look them in the eye and focus on what they are saying.\u00a0 When you have your computer open or are watching TV or are looking at your phone or glancing past their shoulder, you are sending a message that this is not important to you and that you aren’t interested.\u00a0 That immediately generates negative emotions in the other person.<\/li>\n
  2. Ask Questions – <\/strong>When you ask questions to clarify or find out more, it communicates that you really are interested and want to understand.\u00a0 This helps to avoid misunderstandings and keeps you from trying to redirect, avoid or be defensive.\u00a0 When you are seeking to first understand before being understood you will automatically start thinking of questions to ask before you start giving your answer or your defense.<\/li>\n
  3. Follow-up – <\/strong>When you follow up with someone or follow through on something it sends the message that you listened.\u00a0 Even if you cannot do what they asked, it is vital to get back with them and explain why.\u00a0 Simply sending a follow-up email, writing a note or sending a text are great ways to let that person know you heard them and value them.\u00a0 When someone tells you something or asks you for something and you never get back with them it sends the message that you don’t care and they are not important.<\/li>\n
  4. Respond quickly – <\/strong>When someone sends you a message, whether its a text, email, phone message or direct message, respond as soon as possible.\u00a0 Even if you can’t give them a full answer, at least acknowledge that you got it and will be getting back to them.\u00a0 People communicate through messaging and so as a leader it is important to respond as quickly as you can.\u00a0 It sends a message that you value them.\u00a0 Find a good system that works for you to respond to all the messages you get everyday – No excuses just do it.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    If your focus is on listening to the people around you, you will also start noticing things.\u00a0 You will pick up on when someone is struggling or hurting.\u00a0 You can even get some great new ideas.\u00a0 Listening will also help you be more patient, less emotional and more respected.<\/p>\n

    If you think about the people you like to be around, it’s people that listen well, they ask you questions and seem to be genuinely interested in you.\u00a0 Listening is something that’s ultimately done by an individual.\u00a0 Yet an organization or family can also have a culture that endorses and supports listening in all directions and ways.<\/p>\n

    One of the best ways you can develop yourself is to become a better listener.\u00a0 The cool thing is that you can start today, right now, with the next conversation you have.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      When it comes to leadership development there are so many resources out there that it can be hard to know what to focus on.\u00a0 I love reading about leadership and how to develop solid healthy relationships.\u00a0 Developing as a leader is vital for you to survive in your work environment, your home environment and … <\/p>\n

    Continue reading “The One Skill That Will Transform Your Leadership”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,7,10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1266","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-leadership","category-listening","category-personal-growth"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chadstutzman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1266","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chadstutzman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chadstutzman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chadstutzman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chadstutzman.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1266"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/chadstutzman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1266\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1273,"href":"https:\/\/chadstutzman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1266\/revisions\/1273"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chadstutzman.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1266"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chadstutzman.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1266"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chadstutzman.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1266"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}