The signs that you’re a good or bad listener.

Why leaders need to develop their listening skills.

A LinkedIn survey of 14,000 workers found that only 8 percent considered their leaders great listeners and communicators. Today’s executives and managers need to up their game if they want to develop this skill.

Sadly, too few leaders seem to possess listening skills. For example, with this leadership trait, they create good relationships with employees, inspire more brand loyalty, encourage further employee engagement and innovation, and fulfill customers’ needs better. As he describes, “ New ideas can come from many sources, which is why we encourage it at all levels from our annual CEO Challenge before implementation on a larger scale.”Ī leader with listening skills makes all the difference at companies.

For instance, Mogford started the “CEO Challenge,” where employees can submit their innovative ideas for solving business problems. Some leaders like Steve Mogford, the CEO of United Utilities, stand out though. However, examples of leaders showcasing it are few and far between. Listening is a skill we all want to see in our leaders. The good-to-great leaders understand this distinction, creating a culture wherein people had a tremendous opportunity to be heard and, ultimately, for the truth to be heard,” Jim Collins writes, stressing the importance of listening as a leader in his best-seller Good to Great. “There’s a huge difference between the opportunity to ‘have your say’ and the opportunity to be heard. Good Listening Produces Great Leaders Advertisements.

Examples of good listening skills