If you want to be a good leader, Listen more

One of the most overlooked competencies in leadership today is the skill of listening. Listening enables the leader to maximize what God’s doing while minimizing mistakes, maximize team member’s strengths while minimizing their weaknesses, maximize employee engagement while minimizing misunderstandings. As leaders we can’t afford not to listen because the price is too high.

But leaders like to move fast which doesn’t always lend itself to listening. A large part of leadership is about understanding, discerning, reading people, assessing your culture, hearing God and then taking action. All which require listening. I mean really actively listening to people. I find it interesting that Solomon, a ”get it done” leader himself, repeated the instruction, “Listen” over 20 times in the 31 chapters of Proverbs. Perhaps he emphasized it so much because we aren’t quite as good at listening as we think.

So what is the taletale sign that you are a good listener? Your people feel valued, respected, esteemed, appreciated and loved.