Active listening is an overlooked yet vital practice that can help any leader make the most of their time and earn the respect of their employees.

As an entrepreneur, you are deeply passionate about your business. Intensity can be a great motivator on your journey to success. However, it can also give you tunnel vision as a leader, compromising the decisions you make. Luckily, there’s a simple strategy you can lean on to prevent it from negatively impacting your organization: active listening. Here’s how you can use this powerful tool to your advantage to strengthen your authority as a leader.

What is active listening?

Before you assume that you already know everything about listening, try this exercise: Think about the last conversation you had with someone. What is the first thing that comes to mind about it? How did it make you feel? Was it tense, positive, or inspiring? Can you remember the other person’s tone or body language? If you aren’t able to answer any of these questions, then you weren’t actively listening. This practice involves being present, open, and fully engaged in everything the other person does and says—so much so that you pick up on subtle nuances you may not otherwise notice.

It’s not hard to see why this is such an important business skill. You need to feel confident that your employees understand you clearly and vice versa, which can be difficult when you’re being pulled in a million different directions. Active listening is a relatively small investment you can make to help accomplish this.

Honing your skills

The Center for Creative Leadership breaks down active listening into six techniques: pay attention, withhold judgment, reflect, clarify, summarize, and share. Keep this breakdown in mind while in one-on-one or group conversations with your teams.

Pay attention
Make sure to remove all distractions from your environment: turn off email and message notifications, minimize open projects on your computer, and consider leaving your cell phone in another room. This will ensure that the person you’re communicating with is your top priority.

Withhold judgment
Enter every conversation with an open mind. People want to feel like they’re making a significant contribution, so even if you disagree with an idea or proposal, resist the temptation to cut them off. Instead, hear them out to the end, and then collaborate with them to come to a solution that works for both of you.

Reflect
Mirroring is a very useful communication device that involves tapping into and matching a person’s verbal and physical cues to make them feel more relaxed and connected to you. For example, if you’re conversing with someone who is energized and animated, try to keep your responses lively and engaged as well.

Clarify
If you’re paying close enough attention to someone, you’ll naturally have questions about what they’re conveying. Don’t be afraid to repeat what they’ve said to you and ask for a deeper explanation. Keep your questions open ended rather than geared toward yes/no answers to maintain a good conversational flow.

Summarize
Throughout the discussion— preferably after any new point is made—be sure to recap what’s been talked about to avoid confusion and set clear expectations for what both parties should do when the conversation is over. This is particularly helpful for long exchanges, where the main topic can easily be strayed from or lost.

Share
Each person brings their own biases and opinions into a conversation, but it’s critical to put these predispositions on the back burner while the other person is speaking so that you can both feel comfortable opening up. Only introduce your own thoughts and experiences after your conversation partner has shared theirs.

The benefits

There’s tremendous pressure on you as a leader, and every minute of your time counts. The more detached you are in conversations, the likelier you are to require followup discussions and extra meetings and the less likely your team is to meet expectations. But when you’re able to practice active listening, the more empowered your employees will feel and the more efficient your processes will run. Here are just a few of the benefits you’ll reap:

• An increased level of trust from your employees. Employees who feel valued and listened to will appreciate and respect you. If they admire you, they’ll want to work hard for you.
• More efficiency in your business processes. Imagine coming away from a conversation where every person knows exactly what is expected of them and what they need to do. That is the key to optimizing workflows and making sure you squeeze as much value as possible out of each day.
• A boost to your authority. Your employees should be able to come to you with their thoughts, questions, and solutions to problems. Make people feel heard, and they’re guaranteed to feel comfortable speaking up. This consistent flow of ideas can spur innovation and lead to business growth.

The busier you get as a leader, the more difficult effective communication can be. So tune out the noise, tap into what your people have to say, and make them feel seen and heard—your business will thrive in return.

TAKE ACTION:
Write down at least three active listening tools you can bring to your next conversation.