Great leaders are great listeners

Great leaders are great listeners. Being a good listener is the most important leadership characteristic.

A leader stands at the forefront leading a group of people who all have wants, needs and opinions of their own. A good leader must be able to listen to those he is leading. Some leaders believe they are above their constituents and thus have no need to listen to them.

Most people want to be acknowledged and made to feel important and valuable – almost everyone wants be asked for feedback and wants their views to be heard. Listening builds respect and rapport amongst groups of people. But listening to those you lead is the doorway to gaining their commitment.

Once you have their full commitment you have their talent and skills ready to work with you instead of against you. A leader who listens well also have better self esteem and a more positive self image, because they get along better with others. It also makes you a more accurate leader, who recollects important facts and issues which results in fewer miscommunication and fewer mistakes. We can all recall a tyrannical boss, parent or teacher who never listened to us? How did that make us feel toward that person? Did we really value them as a leader and want to work together with them?

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Great! I am actually working on some pages on skills and will talk about listening there.