Listening : A Tool for Setting Conditions for Change
Previously, I wrote about leadership being about creating conditions that support others achieving outcomes. Our strength comes from identifying the beneficial conditions and our influence draws on our ability to create those conditions. All of this is premised on the assumption that we are working to create a different set of outcomes moving forward than what we have experienced so far. (BIG BIAS ALERT: If there is no vision of things being different, no leadership is required!) How we listen and subsequently engage in our conversations with people is one place where we really can exercise these core leadership constructs. I say this, because what we listen for, notice, and affirm (talk about) when relating with others is a GIANT condition that affects the other person’s behavior and our own. (Remember, our behaviors are a direct result of the conditions we are experiencing*) David Rock explores the nature of conversation in his book “Quiet Leadership.” He observes that what we talk