Active listening is a skill. I know sales guys that sell millions of dollars of services work simply by listening to what a client is saying. Crazy, I know. The skilled professional listens actively and adjusts his / her dialogue based on what he / she is hearing. The unskilled person sticks to the script and already has his / her dialogue planned throughout an entire conversation. Even more dangerous is the person that takes what someone is saying and puts his / her spin on it so that the interpretation is completely different than what the client intended. I've sat in meetings with executives where the lead executive reels off his top 3 priorities. I write them down because I write everything down. Then I remember debriefing after those meetings with other people who were in the same room and they've remixed the 3 priorities -- turning them into 5 or 6! And people wonder why simple things such as values and vision never make it t...
Management | Consulting | Leadership | Strategy