Listening for Greater Velocity

by Rebecca Shafir

Don’t sabotage your relationships with co-workers and customers. Limit the three resistance factors that can impede greater velocity in your company’s development:

• Employee turnover

• Customer churn

• Time wasters 

Beware of Tactical Listening: The company listens to “fix the problem,” sees employee/customer suggestions as complaints, uses questionnaires as its main vehicle for accessing info, acts like they’re listening, listens only to big clients, top employees, dislikes face-to-face contact, etc…

Instead, strive to listen Strategically:

Mindful/Strategic Listening: This company promotes a listening culture in-house, offers weekly forums to encourage employee brainstorming with top levels of mgmt present, has a veracious curiosity for what employees & customers are thinking, prefers face-to-face contact, welcomes complaints, gets customers talking, focuses on creating loyal vs. merely satisfied customers and employees. These companies ask themselves questions like, “Is your website listening?” 

What are the personal qualities of a Mindful /Strategic Listener?

The ability to:

• Process the whole message

• Sustain attention over time

• Make speakers feel valued and respected

• Listen to oneself

How do we get there? The Zen of Listening is brain training that helps you:

• Neutralize internal distractions

• Improve concentration (the “Mindfulness Minute” exercise)

• Get into their Movie – Forget Yourself 

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