The Power of Listening: How to Make Your Team Feel Truly Heard
As a leader, one of the most important skills you can develop is the ability to listen deeply and make your team members feel genuinely heard and understood. When employees feel their perspectives are valued, engagement and morale improve. But when people feel ignored or dismissed, resentment builds and performance suffers.
Why Feeling Heard Matters
Human beings have a fundamental need to feel heard and validated. When people sense you are truly listening to them, without judgement, they relax and open up. This builds trust and psychological safety on your team.
However, if you frequently interrupt, ignore opinions, or impose your own solutions, people get the message that their thoughts don't matter. This leads to frustration, lack of motivation, and higher turnover.
The Dangers of Not Listening
Failing to listen can have serious consequences, including:
Loss of talent, as ignored employees seek opportunities where their views will be respected
Lack of innovation, as people stop sharing ideas and insights
Poor decisions, when leaders miss out on valuable perspectives and input
Low morale and resentment, as team members feel marginalized and disrespected
Clearly, not making people feel heard takes a real toll on engagement, collaboration, and performance.
Cultivating Deep Listening
So how can you demonstrate to your staff that you are genuinely listening? Here are some tips:
Maintain eye contact and give your full attention when others are speaking. Avoid distractions and multitasking.
Ask thoughtful follow-up questions to show your interest, not just to push your own agenda.
Paraphrase key points back to the speaker to ensure you understand correctly.
Express empathy and acknowledge the emotions behind what is being said.
Thank people for sharing their views, even if you don't agree with them.
Consider ideas and solutions raised by your team, rather than dismissing them out of hand.
Give feedback on how employee input influenced your thinking and decisions.
Essentially, listening is about curiosity, not criticism. When you approach conversations with an open and non-judgmental mindset, people will feel respected and valued.
Bringing People Along, Even in Disagreement
Making your staff feel heard doesn't necessarily mean endorsing every idea or avoiding hard decisions. But when you do have to move forward without consensus, you can still acknowledge employee concerns and perspectives.
Explain your reasoning while affirming that you heard their input.
Commit to reviewing the decision down the line.
Solicit ideas to improve implementation of the plan.
Schedule one-on-ones to provide support.
Thank the team for sharing candid feedback.
With empathy and transparency, you can build trust and inclusiveness, even amidst disagreement.
Listening to Lead
At the end of the day, leadership is about inspiring people to bring their best selves to work. When employees know their voices matter, they are more engaged, collaborative and innovative. By truly hearing your team, you not only make them feel valued, but gain access to insights that can drive your organization forward. Listening is a muscle - the more you practice it, the better you will become.
If you are interested in developing your leadership abilities, executive coaching can be invaluable. Feel free to reach out to discuss how I can help you hone your listening skills and lead through influence, not just authority. Investing in your growth is an investment in your team.